System and Method for Sperm Selection

Abstract

Infertility is fast becoming a major medical market with more than $4 billion in services provided by the end of 2018. This extensive growth is driven by two factors: the increase in childbearing age for women and a growing number of single women choosing to have a child via sperm donation. Additionally, approximately 50% of all infertility issues come from the male, which requires both isolation and further analysis of the sperm to determine best course of action. Thus, a byproduct of infertility is the increase of in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF utilizes eggs that are surgically removed and mixed with sperm. Then viable, dividing embryos (ones that have been successfully fertilized) can be implanted into the mother. More than half of the money spent on fertility services in 2014 was for IVF, which by definition requires sperm to be sorted for viability. Current technologies used to separate and purify sperm utilize ultracentrifugation and/or hyaluronan binding. These methods can damage sperm, causing the release of inflammatory signals and DNA damage.

The 3D-printed fluidics chip developed by researchers at FAU provides a method to sort sperm that more closely mimics the process of fertilization in vivo. This novel method allows for gentle separation of the most active, viable sperm, which increases the likelihood of successful fertilization. Following sperm collection or thaw, sperm are introduced at one end of the chip. Fluid then flows into the chip away from the collection point for the sperm. This causes the sperm to swim away from the starting point towards the collection point. The sperm that make it to the collection point are then collected and can be used in an assisted reproductive technology procedure. This method is thought to select the fittest sperm, which are defined as those that have the most forward motion away from the starting point, against the flow, to the collection point. Thus, this process more closely mimics the natural process of sperm journeying from the uterus to the egg within the oviduct.

FAU is seeking partners to advance this technology into the marketplace through licensing or development partnerships.

Benefit

Market Application

Publications

Quantitative analysis of sperm rheotaxis using a microfluidic device