Sperm tail tracking technique could improve male fertility tests

Tracking the movement of a sperm's tail could improve male fertility tests and lead to more effective treatments, according to a new study.

The technique developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham works by measuring the speed and action of the sperm flagella, or tail.

By badyzing the tail, it is possible to determine if the sperm of an ejaculate have the potential to reach and fertilize the egg, they said by publishing their findings in the newspaper Human reproduction.

Currently, sperm badysis is done either by counting the number of spermatozoa produced or by following the head of the cell.

However, "diagnostic methods are rudimentary and there are still no drugs to treat male infertility," said researcher Jackson Kirkman Brown MBE.

The new technique utilizes a combination of high speed fast digital imaging, mathematics and fluid dynamics to detect and track sperm in samples.

To make sure the method is accessible to other researchers and clinicians, the team has developed a free software called FAST (flagellar capture and sperm tracking).

This will lead to a better understanding of male fertility issues and how to treat them, the researchers said.

"We've all heard about" sperm count, "and the tools available to understand sperm – hand counting under the microscope – have not changed much since the 1950s," said lead researcher Professor Dave Smith.

"However, consider the amount of technology – camera, computing, connectivity – that we all now have access to – this project aims to harness these 21st century technologies to solve the problems of male fertility."

The mathematical model of the system, developed by Gemma Cupples, badyzes the amount of energy required for sperm to swim effectively.

"The new model allows us to measure tiny forces, impossible to measure experimentally," she said. "This technique has considerable potential for other important issues, such as understanding the spread of bacteria and the transport of fluids in tiny spaces such as the brain."

Dr. Brown added that the technique of measuring spermatozoa mobility in detail "will help us identify appropriate treatments or lifestyle changes to combat male fertility problems, by giving couples clearer answers and by allowing better decisions ".

It is important to note that "better this technique is to effectively diagnose patients, it is also more effective to badign the appropriate treatment – whether it is an inexpensive and" easy "treatment, such as washing Sperm and injection into the uterus, complex treatments such as IVF or ICSI – a process similar to IVF in which sperm is injected directly into the harvested egg. "

His research colleague, Meurig Gallagher, added, "Sperms have an incredibly difficult task: they have to travel thousands of times the length of their bodies through the female reproductive tract in search of an egg. This journey reduces a population of several million to less than a hundred. The flagellum is responsible for propulsion and navigation, so it is important to understand what success looks like – how a healthy tail moves and how it consumes. energy. "