Revolutionising fertility treatment

Any couple trying to conceive through IVF will tell you it is an emotional, stressful and costly journey. Thankfully, researchers at The University of Adelaide, in partnership with medical technology company Fertilis, have developed a ground-breaking new micro-device which will revolutionise the only fertility treatment available to men with low sperm counts.

The new device will allow more IVF clinics to offer Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) as a treatment. ICSI is a time-sensitive and painstaking procedure, where a single sperm is injected into an egg. The first-of-its-kind device provides some semi-automation, simplifying the procedure and therefore making it faster for embryologists to perform the treatment and help even more couples who wish to conceive.

Lead researcher Dr Kylie Dunning, from the University’s Robinson Research Institute, said the new device will halve treatment time, reduce the potential for human error, and require less expensive equipment than the current treatment. Ultimately, this will lead to more couples being able to access and afford ICSI. 

“Funds are needed for additional research to ensure we are selecting the best possible sperm for injection, and to run a clinical trial, a necessary step prior to wide implementation in IVF clinics.” Kylie said.

This cutting-edge development would not be possible without the generous support of the Australian Research Council and The Hospital Research Foundation Group. More funds are needed to support further research, development and fine tuning of the technology, and to enable the clinical trials.