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Sperm Championships

Future ‘Sperm Championships’ may improve ART success rates

One of the best ways to improve chances of in vitro fertilisation success is to select the strongest, best-swimming sperm from semen. Current methods of selection can cause damage the sperm heads, where the precious DNA is stored. This is because the conventional method used to sort the speediest sperm involves centrifugation: high-speed, G-force-inducing spinning steps similar to the process of the spin-cycle of a washing machine.

Now researchers at Florida Atlantic University in the US think they have found a new way to ensure that only the healthiest sperm are selected for IVF treatment: a sort of ‘Sperm Championships’ in which a microchip device ‘puts sperm racing against one another’.

It is known that sperm will swim in liquid against an opposing flow. So the device works by placing the semen sample into the device’s lower micro-chamber, and the sperm gradually swim upstream against the flow of a hydrostatic liquid until they reach the upper micro-chamber, with the strongest swimmers getting there first. After 45 minutes the sperm that have ‘won the championship’ are harvested, and checked for motility and DNA integrity ready for use in IVF procedures.

So, with the cost of IVF being very significant, anything that improves success must be welcomed.

“No other devices generate the flow in this way, and our device is much easier to use,” says Professor Affrouz Ataei of Florida Atlantic University. The method is also cheaper, quicker and less damaging than the current DNA methods used. “I think this device has potential for clinical use,” she added.

Professor Ataei’s team is currently in the process of optimising the microchip device before they file a patent on their design, but hopefully it will see fruition as part of the IVF clinic inventory in the near future.