Twenty years ago, when German carpenter Clemens Bimek watched a documentary about contraception, he came up with the idea of temporary male sterilization. In 2000, Bimek filed the first patent for his idea — an actual switch that allowed a man to control sperm flow. The device “Bimek SLV,” named after the inventor, is the size of a gummy bear and could change the future of vasectomies.
The tiny valve is surgically implanted and attached to the vas deferens, or the spermatic ducts sperm moves through during ejaculation. The switch turns on and off when it’s pressed down on the man’s flesh, which is accessible just beneath the scrotum’s skin. When the mechanical switch is turned off, the valve closes and diverts sperm cells by cutting them off and preventing them from reaching the seminal fluid, making the man temporarily sterile.
