An American surgeon is trying to recruit women to test his patented orgasm machine, but is having trouble finding volunteers.

"I thought people would be beating my door down to take part in the trial," said Dr. Stuart Meloy, who placed radio and newspaper advertisements looking for women to test the "orgasmatron" implant.

But since the ads began in August, only one woman has tested the device and one other has signed up to participate in the clinical trial.


The device is the size of a pacemaker, and is implanted under the skin to heighten sexual pleasure.

The one woman who has tested the invention had not had an orgasm for four years.

"She was quite satisfied," Dr. Meloy said. "She wants me to succeed in this trial so she can take part in the next one, which would involve a permanent implant."

The woman wore the device for nine days and had sex with her husband seven times, claiming she reached orgasm every time and experienced her first multiple orgasm.

Dr. Meloy, whose test has been approved by the U.S. government, stumbled on the unexpected side-effect while using a spinal cord stimulator to treat a patient with severe back pain.

The new application was dubbed the "orgasmatron" after an oversized device in the Woody Allen movie Sleeper.

Although there is an obvious "prurient and giggly" reaction to his discovery, Dr. Meloy intentionally stressed the clinical aspects of the trial in his advertisements to prevent "every thrill seeker in the world" from applying.

To take part in the trial, women must be between the ages of 25 and 60, have their own gynecologist and suffer from "orgasmic disfunction."

Dr. Meloy admits this term is hard to define and a woman's inability to reach orgasm could be the result of a number of factors, including the inabilities of her sexual partner.

"I ask the gynecologist to screen out some of the more correctable problems," he said.

The trial is open to women with "primary" disfunction, meaning that they have never had an orgasm, and "secondary disfunction" which Dr. Meloy defines as a "lost function."

He said female sexual dysfunction has been virtually ignored as male pharmaceutical sex aids make millions.

A 2001 study by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reported that 32% of women over the age of 25 complain of orgasm dysfunction, he added.

Although the Federal Drug Administration trial is testing the device's effectiveness as a medical tool, the orgasmatron is already safe and available for "off-label use" by women looking for a quieter sexual partner.

The $4,000 ticket price makes it unlikely the orgasmatron will become a household staple, but Dr. Meloy said it has given him a new perspective on his role in medicine.

Trained and practicing as an anaesthesiologist, bringing pleasure to women is a new experience.

"I like my job," he said. "But I think it would be interesting to have a practice where instead of taking away feelings that they don't want, I would be providing feelings that they do want."