IMSI

What is IMSI?
IMSI (Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection) is a technique allowing for an improved morphologically-based selection of sperm.

How does IMSI work?
In order to better select sperm based on its morphology, you are required to have a high resolution microscope that is specific to this technique.
Normally, the ICSI technique is performed with 200x-400x microscope. For IMSI it required to use a last generation microscope with a magnification of up to 16000x. This large difference when magnifying the sperm enables us to see and detect anomalies in sperm which would not be visible using a microscope with a magnification of 400x. This enables a selection of totally normal sperm.


What anomalies can we detect with IMSI that are not detectable using ICSI?
Besides the shape of the sperm head and tail, we can also observe the existence of vacuoles within the sperm’s nucleus. These vacuoles are like liquid bubbles which can be seen in the sperm’s head, where the nucleus is, and have been correlated with DNA anomalies.

 
Figure 1. Sperm with vacuole.



Figure 2. Sperm with vacuoles.


Figure 3. Sperm with vacuoles.


Figure 4. Sperm with a large vacuole.


Figure 5. Sperm with small vacuoles.


Figure 6. A normal sperm compared with an amorphous sperm with vacuoles.


Figure 7. View of sperm at a magnification of 200x without IMSI.

What are the improvements in using IMSI?
When performing an ICSI with morphologically selected sperm (IMSI) we observe a greater possibility for embryos to develop normally and, therefore, we increase gestation possibilities. Also, when using ISMI the abortion ratios are reduced by 50%.

What patients can benefit from IMSI?
In principle, all patients can benefit from using this technique; however, it is especially useful when patients present a high percentage of morphological anomalies in sperm. Also for patients who have not obtained positive response to previous cycles, using IMSI can improve the prognosis. IMSI could also be used for patients having experienced an unexplained abortion.


Cutting-edge microscopes for IMSI
Instituto CEFER has purchased the most advanced microscope for IMSI from the company Leica Microsystems™ achieving a magnification of up to 16000x. Other versions will only yield a magnification of 6000x.

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