Low-cost, portable and automated semen analysis using computational microscopy for home-based testing of male wellness and fertility

使用计算显微镜进行低成本、便携式和自动化精液分析，用于男性健康和生育力的家庭测试

• 批准号: 9753318
• 负责人: Maxim Batalin
• 金额: $ 83.27万
• 依托单位: LUCENDI, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-01 至 2021-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9753318
• 关键词: Affect; Algorithmic Analysis; Algorithms; Area; Birth; Characteristics; Child; Clinic; Clinical; Clinical Treatment; Clinical Trials; Collaborations; Collection; Companions; Computer Assisted; Couples; Custom; Detection; Development; Drug or Chemical; Evaluation; Event; Farming environment; Feedback; Fertility; Gold; Head; Health; Home environment; Human; Image; Image Analysis; Infertility; Internet; Laboratories; Lasers; Life Style; Male Infertility; Manuals; Measurement; Measures; Microscope; Microscopic; Microscopy; Modality; Monitor; Motion; Optics; Performance; Phase; Procedures; Process; Reader; Recommendation; Research; Resolution; Running; Sampling; Secure; Seminal fluid; Societies; Source; Speed; Sperm Banks; Sperm Count Procedure; Sperm Head; Sperm Motility; Suction; Suggestion; System; Systems Analysis; Tail; Technology; Testing; Time; TimeLine; Training; Update; Validation; Variant; Vasectomy; Women' s Health; animal breeding; automated analysis; base; cell motility; cost; cost effective; density; design; graphical user interface; healthy lifestyle; high throughput analysis; imaging platform; improved; intrauterine insemination; lens; light weight; male; male fertility; meetings; mobile application; novel; portability; prototype; research clinical testing; response; sensor; social stigma; sperm analysis; sperm cell; sperm quality; statistics; web app

One of the most significant events in our lives is the birth of a child. At the same time, on average 20% of couples find difficulties conceiving within the first year of trying. In our society, historically, fertility issues are mostly associated with females' health. However, in 40%-50% of these cases male fertility issues may be at the source of the problem, while, typically, are much easier to treat. The fundamental evaluation of male fertility in the clinical laboratory begins with sperm characterization, where the golden standard is to use a benchtop microscope (manually) and/or a computer-assisted automated semen analysis (CASA) system. Though, partially due to cost and partially due to social stigma associated with clinical evaluation or treatment, male infertility often stays undetected. This has generated a demand for inexpensive in-home sperm evaluation kits. However, there is currently no product on the market that offers in-home and quantitative measurement of sperm count and motility – parameters vital for interpretation of semen quality. This proposal aims to develop and commercialize a Lucendi Semen Performance Analytics (Lucendi SPA) platform. Lucendi SPA will be a rapid (<2 minutes), simple-to-use, inexpensive, compact, lightweight, and portable product for automated analysis of sperm characteristics ideal for repeated and continual testing of male fertility and wellness. Lucendi SPA will be designed based on a novel lens-free microscopy technology developed over the past decade at UCLA by Prof. Ozcan's lab. Lucendi SPA system will consist of a disposable cartridge (for single use) and a multi-use computational reader. Another component of the Lucendi SPA system will be a mobile/web application that tracks and quantifies user's sperm characteristics and quality over time, provides actionable feedback and easy to understand metrics, offers wellness and lifestyle suggestions for improvement of results and stimulates an overall healthy lifestyle, promoting wellness. With the relatively low cost of computational power, we believe that such a compact, light-weight and cost- effective automated semen analysis platform running on a wide-field lensfree on-chip microscope would be especially useful for in-home male fertility tests. Potential other application areas of this unique semen analysis platform are vast and include post-vasectomy tests either at home or in clinics, sperm analysis in fertility clinics (including IVF procedures), semen quality evaluation in sperm banks, stud performance assessment at animal breeding centers, and stud health monitoring in farms. In addition to these, by using a larger-area image sensor, this platform can also be transformed into a significantly higher throughput analysis platform that can measure sperms' response to different drugs or chemicals of various concentrations in parallel.

我们一生中最重要的事件之一就是孩子的出生，平均 20% 的孩子出生。 从历史上看，在我们的社会中，生育问题一直是夫妇们在尝试怀孕的第一年内遇到的困难。 主要与女性健康有关，但其中 40%-50% 的情况可能与男性生育问题有关。 问题的根源，而通常更容易治疗男性生育能力的基本评估。 在临床实验室中，从精子表征开始，黄金标准是使用台式 显微镜（手动）和/或计算机辅助自动精液分析（CASA）系统。 部分是由于成本，部分是由于与临床评估或治疗相关的社会耻辱，男性 不孕症往往未被发现，这就产生了对廉价家用精子评估套件的需求。 然而，目前市场上还没有提供家庭定量测量的产品。 精子计数和活力 - 对精液质量至关重要的参数 该提案旨在开发和商业化 Lucendi 精液性能分析 (Lucendi SPA) 平台，该平台将是一个快速（<2 分钟）、易于使用且价格低廉的平台。 Lucendi SPA 是一款紧凑、轻便、便携的产品，用于自动分析精子，是重复和连续测试男性生育力和健康的理想特性，该产品将基于过去十年开发的新型无透镜显微镜技术而设计。加州大学洛杉矶分校 Ozcan 教授实验室的 Lucendi SPA 系统将由一次性墨盒（一次性使用）和多用途计算读取器组成。 Lucendi SPA 系统的另一个组件将是跟踪和量化用户精子特征的移动/网络应用程序。随着时间的推移和质量，提供可操作的反馈和易于理解的指标，提供健康和生活方式建议以改善结果并刺激整体健康的生活方式，以相对较低的计算能力成本促进健康，我们相信这样一个紧凑、轻便的产品。 -重量和成本- 在宽视场无透镜芯片显微镜上运行的有效自动化精液分析平台将是 这种独特的精液分析对于家庭男性生育力测试特别有用。 平台非常广泛，包括家庭或诊所的输精管结扎后测试、生育诊所的精子分析 （包括体外受精程序）、精子库中的精液质量评估、动物种马性能评估 除此之外，还可以使用更大范围的图像来监测养殖中心和种马健康状况。 传感器，该平台还可以转变为吞吐量明显更高的分析平台，可以 并行测量精子对不同药物或不同浓度化学物质的反应。