Fertility test

Researchers at Edinburgh University have developed a method of assessing the quality of a sperm before it is used in IVF in order to improve the chances of conception.

The project, which is being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), uses a technique that identifies individual sperm in order to assess whether it would be able to fertilise an egg during IVF.

The process works by capturing the sperm using highly-focused beams of laser lights to create an ‘optical tweezer’. Once captured, the sperm’s DNA properties are identified using a process known as Raman spectroscopy, which measures the pattern of vibrations using the wavelength and intensity of inelastically scattered light from molecules.

Currently, most techniques assess a sperm's quality by monitoring its shape and activity. Other established tests work by cutting the cells in half and tagging them with fluorescent dye. While this gives a better understanding of its health, the process kills the sperm so that it can not be used in further treatment.