Sperm Selection Device

2020: Announcement of a device for selecting quality sperm for IVF

In mid-December 2020, researchers at Monash University in Australia developed a microfluidic device to isolate high-quality sperm from IVF samples. The new technology uses standing acoustic waves to separate sperm in clinically significant amounts, and it is faster, less laborious and not as dangerous to sperm as modern centrifugation and washing procedures. According to the developers, their system has already begun to be used in clinics for the treatment of infertility.

Sperm quality is a serious problem affecting the chances of successful in vitro fertilization. To solve this problem, doctors try to select the highest quality sperm from untreated sperm samples. Current approaches have selected sperm primarily in view of their mobility, and over the past 30 years these methods have remained virtually unchanged, as have their effectiveness, which remained at about 33%. Current procedures include several washing and centrifugation steps, as well as a manual selection step and take up to three hours, which can also harm sperm.

A device that selects quality sperm for IVF using acoustic waves

Male infertility is a global reproductive problem, and several clinical approaches have been developed to solve it, said researcher Reza Nosrati. - However, their effectiveness is limited due to time-consuming and lengthy sperm selection procedures.

To avoid these adverse factors, the researchers developed a microfluidic device that uses acoustic waves to separate sperm with significant DNA integrity and normal head morphology. Acoustic forces direct and eject high-quality sperm from the main stream through the microchannel and isolate them in a separate outlet, leaving a total sperm population in the untreated sample. This process can increase the chance of pregnancy in couples who have chosen IVF.^[1]

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