When you provide more detailed information about your lifestyle and medical history, we can gain a better understanding of which factors affect a couple’s chances of successful pregnancy.

PRESTO also gives you a chance to participate in one of the first Internet-based fertility studies in North America. This means that your participation has a significant influence on the future use of web-based research strategies. Regarding research questions of interest, we will explore are whether carrying your cell phone in certain areas (e.g., front vs. back pocket) affects fertilty. We are also interested in learning whether certain types of exercise or whether taking selected nutritional supplements (e.g., multivitamins) improve sperm health and increase fertility. There is very little information about factors that promote optimal fertility in men.

Finally, men who complete their brief (10-15 minute) PRESTO questionnaire will be entered into a lottery to win a free iPad mini.  We hope you’ll choose to enroll!

Male partners cannot enroll in PRESTO unless they are invited by their female partners.

If you are interested in PRESTO, please pass the study information along to your female partner, so that both of you can get involved.

The male questionnaire takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

In this study, 40 male partners will be invited to complete the PRESTO baseline survey and two in-home semen tests using an investigational semen analysis device (Trak^TM).  This research was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Boston University and is funded by the Boston University School of Public Health.

This study seeks to evaluate the usability and general utility of the Trak^TM device, to assess whether lifestyle and behavioral factors are associated with semen quality, and to determine whether semen quality predicts future fertility.

Trak^TM is an investigational semen analysis device developed and tested by Sandstone Diagnostics in California. The kit comprises an instrument and disposable test cartridges for in-home semen analysis. Trak^TM is currently in clinical trials and in the process of obtaining approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for over-the-counter sales.

Participants will be mailed a Trak^TM kit within 2 weeks of completing their male survey. Trak^TM will be shipped in discreet packaging so that it is not identifiable as a semen testing kit. Men will be asked to collect a semen sample, perform their own semen analysis, and upload their results to the secure study website. Men will be instructed to do the Trak^TM tests during the luteal phase (post-ovulation) of their partner’s menstrual cycle, so as to not interfere with their pregnancy attempts. Reminder e-mails will notify men of the ideal period during which to perform each test, estimated using data on their partner’s date of last menstrual period and cycle length. Because of changes in semen quality over time, men will be asked to take a second test 7-10 days later.

Yes, men will be reimbursed for their time with a $20 electronic gift card after they upload the data from both semen tests.