Spermatozoa(sperm) is composed of a head and a tail. The head comprises the condensed nucleus of the cell with only a thin cytoplasmic and cell membrane layer around its surface. On the outside of the anterior two thirds of the head is a thick cap called the acrosome that is formed mainly from the Golgi apparatus. This contains a number of enzymes including hyaluronidase (it can digest proteoglycan filaments of tissues) and powerful proteolytic enzymes (it can digest proteins). These enzymes play important roles in allowing the sperm to enter ovum and fertilization to happen.
Structure of a Human Sperm
The tail of the sperm, called the flagellum has three major components: (1) a central skeleton constructed of 11 microtubules, collectively called the axoneme (2) A thin cell membrane covering the axoneme and (3) A collection of mitochondria surrounding the axoneme in the proximal portion of the tail (called the body of tail).
Back and forth movement provided motility for the sperm. The movement results from a rhythmical longitudinal sliding motion between the anterior and posterior tubules that make up the axoneme. The energy for this process is supplied in the form of ATP synthesized by mitochondria in body of tail.
Normal sperm move in fluid medium at a velocity of 1 to 4 mm/min.
References:
Textbook of medical physiology, 11th edition , Arthur C. Guyton and John E. Hall.
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There is a lot of procedure that has to be followed before the ICSI process. In the initial stage female are given drugs to boost the egg supply by taking fertility hormone called as gonadotrophin. This increases the number of eggs produced. Some women experience ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS) because of the hormone stimulating drug.
If the eggs are produced in an increased amount this will lead to low ovarian reserve. RoboICSI can predict the egg state and stability at the oocyte retrieval stage. This will reduce the dosage of the hormones given to female for increasing the egg count. Eggs collected can also be reduced as we will know the properties of eggs way before the ICSI process.
Quicker way to ace ICSI
Novice embryologists:
The conventional ICSI needs a lot of patience and dexterity. A novice embryologists find it challenging to fix and align the holding pipette. They may tend to break the holding pipette which is made up of glass if it is got closer to the ICSI plate. The precise plane should be achieved without breaking the holding pipette. The broken pieces will be hazardous if found in the ICSI plate. The entire plate has to be then disposed which will also contain the eggs.
The amount of pressure given to hold the egg is also a very important parameter. If too much pressure is given then the eggs might get damaged or ICSI will fail if there is no enough pressure applied.
RoboICSI is made up of a soft and bio compatible material that will be in contact with the eggs during the ICSI process. It is a not fragile which will not break even if it touches the ICSI plate which makes the embryologist to on-board easily with RoboICSI.
Say Bye to the suction pump which controls the pressure in conventional ICSI because RoboICSI works on a NO-PRESSURE method. Even if more actuation than required is given to grip the eggs there will be no damage caused to the eggs which has been proven by RoboICSI.
Spend Less, Earn More
IVF Clinics:
RoboICSI will be replacing the entire left manipulator with more efficient and compatible setup for a much lower cost compared to the present manipulators in clinics. Thus, will reduce the money spent by the clinics on purchasing the manipulators.
RoboICSI can handle more samples in fewer time which means more cases for a day.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is an ART involving the injection of a single sperm into the cytoplasm of an oocyte to achieve fertilization. It is mainly performed for the treatment of couples with male factor infertility and those with poor fertilization with conventional IVF.
ICSI is the only treatment option for couples with severe male factor infertility. It can be performed with ejaculated or surgically retrieved sperm.
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), according to WHO, refers to infertility treatments where both eggs (oocytes) and sperm are handled ex-vivo to achieve pregnancy. In conventional ART procedures, the oocytes and sperms are combined in a laboratory ex vivo (i.e. outside the human body) and the resulting embryo (mature and fertilized oocyte) is implanted back into a woman.
Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system caused due to the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse [1]. In simpler words, it is the state of not being able to produce offspring. In female, it is the inability to conceive, and in male it is the inability to impregnate.
The four major causes for infertility can be classified into:
male factor
female factor
combined male and female factor
unexplained
Approximately 40% of infertility cases are due to female factor, 40% due to male factor, and 20% due to a combination of both.
According to the 2017 statistical analysis, in India there are about 30 million couples with infertility as shown in the following Figure.
