One centimeter long, four millimeters wide and a promise that could finally lighten the lives of many women: three years of hormone-free male contraception, thanks to a small implant applied to the canals deferens. It’s called STEOM, it comes from a French research project and, an interesting detail, it was born from the intuition of two researchers. Because even when it comes to finding new contraceptives for men, apparently, we have to do it ourselves.
Jokes aside, the news could also be of great interest to Italian couples. On the one hand we have pills, coils, implants, patches, gynecologist appointments and any side effects to manage. On the other hand, for men, the main options remain condoms and vasectomy, the latter considered a permanent option. STEOM promises a third way: long-lasting, reversible contraception without hormonal interference. It would already be a nice change from the usual division of tasks.
How the STEOM male spiral works
The device was developed by Julie Prasivoravong, an andrologist at Lille University Hospital, and Jessica Schiro, an engineer specializing in biomechanics. Also collaborating on the project are Justine Mauro, mechatronics engineer, and Dominique Prasivoravong, who follows the entrepreneurial development. The name STEOM combines two French words: sterilespiral, and hommeman. Compared to the female spiral, however, the operation is completely different.
The device should be applied in pairs to the canals deferens, the small ducts that carry sperm from the testicles to the urethra. Through a physical mechanism, it would temporarily prevent sperm from reaching the seminal fluid, without interrupting their production. As the Center for Clinical Investigation and Technological Innovation in Lille explains, the prototype was patented in 2025 and aims to offer reversible contraception without administering hormones.
The difference compared to vasectomy is important: the canals deferens would not be sectioned and the device could be removed when the man wishes to recover his fertility. In short, someone thought that even sperm could stop for a while, instead of always asking the female body to take care of the entire traffic control system.
Fifteen minutes at the doctor and three years of contraception
According to the designers, applying STEOM would take about 15 minutes, through a small incision in the scrotum, under local anesthesia. A relatively short outpatient procedure, designed to be minimally invasive. The implant should last three years and, once removed, allow fertility to be recovered. The first development hypotheses even speak of a return to normal reproductive function in a very short time.
No daily pills, no hormone intake and, according to the researchers’ goals, no alterations in libido or testosterone production. Naturally, safety, contraceptive efficacy and reversibility will need to be confirmed through clinical studies.
Because yes, we women also care that male contraceptives are safe. It would already be progress to be able to discuss together which method to use, rather than automatically finding ourselves in charge of choosing the one best suited to our body, remembering to use it and managing any consequences. STEOM, of course, would not protect against sexually transmitted infections. The condom would therefore continue to have an indispensable role.
In Italy, contraception is still above all a female issue
The STEOM project also gives hope because it arrives in a context in which the distribution of contraceptive responsibilities is still rather unbalanced. According to the 59th Censis Report on the social situation of the country, published in December 2025, 26.2% of the women interviewed say they take the contraceptive pill, while 42.7% ask their partner to use a condom.
Then there is another interesting fact: 21.7% of women report resorting to coitus interruptus, a method with poor contraceptive reliability. A practice that entrusts a large part of prevention to the man’s ability to interrupt the relationship at the right time. With all the margins of error involved.
The Ministry of Health lists numerous contraceptive options for women, from hormonal devices to intrauterine devices. For men, however, the consolidated options remain decidedly more limited. Vasectomy is also a possibility, of course. But, as the Istituto Superiore di Sanità reminds us, this is an intervention whose reversibility is not guaranteed. It is therefore not a solution designed for those who simply want to postpone fatherhood for a few years.
This is why an implant like STEOM could be interesting: it would allow men to take on a more concrete part of the contraceptive responsibility, maintaining the possibility of having children in the future. It would also mean offering a new option to women who cannot, or do not wish, to use hormonal contraceptives. After all, freedom of choice makes much more sense when alternatives really exist.
When could it also arrive in Italy?
For the moment STEOM is still in development. The project has received several awards, including the Grand Prix i-Lab 2026, awarded on 16 September as part of the French competitions for technological innovation. As confirmed by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the recognition came for the innovative potential and social impact of the device. An important support to continue the experimentation. The first preclinical studies have been scheduled to start in 2026, in collaboration with the University of Liège, Belgium. The research team plans to start the first clinical trials on humans in 2031.
If the results are positive and the necessary authorizations arrive, marketing could begin approximately from 2033. For possible availability in Italy we will also have to wait for the European regulatory process. It will still take several years, then. Yet, compared to the many promises on male contraception that remained on paper for decades, STEOM can already count on a patented prototype, a multidisciplinary research group and funding to continue development.
And there’s also a nice feminist twist. For generations we have considered it almost natural that the prevention of pregnancies comes mainly from women’s bodies, from our medical appointments, from prescriptions, from reminders on the phone. As if couple fertility were a matter to be managed mainly by one of the two parties.
With STEOM we could get closer to a situation where men also have more tools to choose to deal with it. Without taking away women’s ability to manage their fertility independently: having more alternatives means being able to decide freely, together or individually.
For now we can only hope that the experiment goes well. But the idea that one day, on the list of appointments for contraception, there may also be a doctor’s visit in his name, let’s face it, is quite pleasant. And maybe, for once, he will be the one to remember to book it.
