Could this new Made in India device help improve IVF success rates?

For couples undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF), the focus often falls on the egg, the embryo and the uterus. But there is another factor that can influence whether treatment succeeds: the quality of the sperm used to fertilize the egg.

Researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research – National Institute for Research on Women’s Health (ICMR-NIRoWH) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have developed a small, slide-based device that could bring greater precision to this step.

The microfluidic sperm-sorting device is designed to identify sperm not only by how well they swim, but also by how they respond to chemical signals that naturally guide sperm towards an egg.

In limited studies involving sperm from fertile men, the researchers found that the sperm selected by the device showed better DNA integrity and chromatin compaction – two characteristics associated with the ability to fertilise an egg and support early embryo development.

The findings offer a potential new approach to one of the most difficult decisions made in an IVF laboratory: choosing which sperm should be used.

The device, currently though, remains in the research and development stage and is yet to be validated for routine clinical use or demonstrated to improve live-birth rates in couples undergoing IVF.

Infertility is a growing concern in India and an estimated 2.75 crore couples struggle with it.

It affects couples across age groups and income levels, with factors involving either partner, or both, contributing to difficulties in conceiving. Male factors are estimated to contribute to nearly half of infertility cases, either alone or alongside female factors.

At the same time, the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), including IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), has expanded in India. These treatments have become an important option for couples who cannot conceive naturally, although access remains uneven and treatment can be expensive.

IVF involves fertilising an egg with sperm in a laboratory and transferring the resulting embryo into the uterus. In ICSI, a more targeted form of treatment often used when there are concerns about sperm quality, an embryologist injects a single sperm directly into an egg.

That makes sperm selection particularly important.

“Selecting the right sperm is a critical step,” Dr Priyanka Parte, the lead innovator behind the device, whose research has focused on male infertility told India Today. A sperm may be capable of swimming but still carry damage to its DNA. Conversely, a sperm with good movement may not necessarily have intact genetic material.

DNA integrity refers to whether the genetic material inside the sperm is intact or fragmented. Chromatin compaction describes how tightly that DNA is packaged. Proper packaging protects the genetic material and is an important feature of mature, functional sperm.

Damage in either area can affect fertilisation, embryo development and, potentially, pregnancy outcomes. It does not, however, mean that pregnancy is impossible.

A routine semen analysis generally measures sperm concentration, movement and shape. These are useful indicators, but they do not reveal every aspect of sperm health. A man may have a seemingly acceptable sperm count and motility while some sperm carry DNA damage.

This is one reason embryologists need methods that can distinguish between sperm that merely move and those that may be biologically better suited for fertilisation.MIMICKING NATURE’S SELECTION PROCESS

During natural conception, sperm does not reach the egg by swimming randomly. They navigate through the female reproductive tract, where physical conditions and chemical signals help determine which sperm progress towards the egg.

One such process is called chemotaxis – the movement of cells in response to a chemical signal. In simple terms, sperm can respond to substances released in the reproductive tract, including substances associated with the fluid surrounding the egg.

The ICMR-IIT Bombay device attempts to recreate part of this process inside a laboratory.

The technology uses a small microfluidic chip, a device containing microscopic channels and chambers through which fluids and cells can move. Unlike conventional laboratory methods that rely heavily on centrifugation, the chip creates a chemical gradient — an area where the concentration of a substance gradually increases from one region to another.

The researchers use a chemoattractant formulation, for which a provisional Indian patent has been filed, to create this gradient. Capacitated sperm, meaning sperm that have undergone the biological changes required to acquire the ability to fertilise an egg, are introduced into one chamber of the slide.

Sperm that respond to the chemical signal move towards the area where the concentration of the chemoattractant is higher. The researchers can then collect sperm from the relevant chamber.

The device therefore uses two characteristics in combination: motility, or the ability to move, and chemotaxis, or the ability to respond to chemical signals.

This is different from simply selecting sperm that appear to be fast swimmers under a microscope.

“Nature has its own way of selecting sperm,” Parte explained. The team's work has attempted to understand and reproduce part of that process rather than relying solely on conventional laboratory separation techniques.

The sperm collected through the device can potentially be used in IVF or ICSI procedures, subject to further validation and clinical assessment.A GENTLER ROUTE TO SORTING

Most andrology laboratories currently use methods such as swim-up, density-gradient centrifugation and sperm washing to prepare samples for assisted reproduction.

In the swim-up method, sperm that move actively are encouraged to swim into a layer of culture medium, from where they can be collected. Density-gradient centrifugation separates components of a semen sample according to their density, while sperm washing removes unwanted components and prepares the sample for use.

These techniques are established and remain widely used. However, they have limitations. They do not fully reproduce the biological selection process that occurs in the reproductive tract, and centrifugation involves mechanical forces that may affect sperm.

Some IVF centres, particularly in metropolitan cities, have also adopted device-based sorting methods that primarily select sperm according to their movement. Imported technologies can be expensive, while simpler devices may not assess the same range of sperm characteristics.

The new microfluidic device is intended to address this gap by enriching the sample for sperm that demonstrates both movement and a response to the chemical gradient.

Dr Hrishikesh Pai, a veteran IVF specialist, not associated with research, said sperm quality deserves as much attention as egg quality during IVF.

“There are cases where the egg and embryo look perfectly healthy, and yet a subtle issue with sperm morphology or motility quietly gets in the way,” he said.

According to Dr Pai, a more precise method of identifying high-quality sperm could potentially improve fertilisation and embryo development, and reduce the number of treatment cycles some couples need.

However, the actual benefit would depend on whether the device produces better clinical outcomes in carefully conducted studies.

ART procedures generally have success rates in the broad range of 30–40 percent, depending on factors such as the woman’s age, the cause of infertility, egg and embryo quality, the treatment protocol and the laboratory’s performance.

The device is the outcome of nearly a decade of work led by Dr Parte and her team at ICMR-NIRWOH, formerly ICMR-NIRRCH, in collaboration with Dr Venkat Gundabala at IIT Bombay.

The research began with efforts to understand how sperm respond to chemical signals. The team first developed a microfluidic device to assess sperm chemotactic behaviour, followed by an assay to measure that response.

Researchers then studied metabolites released during ovulation into the follicular fluid, the fluid surrounding the developing egg. Some of these substances were identified as potential chemoattractants, or chemical signals that may help guide sperm towards the egg during natural conception.

This understanding formed the scientific basis for the sorting device.

The team subsequently developed a prototype microfluidic chip, identified a chemoattractant formulation and optimised the sperm-selection process.

In limited studies using samples from fertile men, the selected sperm demonstrated better DNA integrity and chromatin compaction compared with the characteristics being assessed in the unsorted samples.

The next challenge is to determine whether the device works equally well in men with abnormal or subnormal semen parameters – the very group of patients who may benefit most from improved sperm selection.

The researchers have recently begun studies to examine this question.WHEN COULD PATIENTS BENEFIT?

Despite the promise, the device could take some time before it is ready for use in IVF clinics.

The team is currently at technology readiness level 4/5, meaning the technology has been developed and evaluated at a prototype or laboratory validation stage, but has not completed the clinical testing required for routine medical use.

The device is being tested for its ability to sort sperm from semen samples of men undergoing IVF-related treatment. However, it has not yet been validated in real-world clinical settings to establish whether its use leads to improved fertilisation, embryo quality, pregnancy or live-birth outcomes.

Third-party validation and clinical trials will be needed to assess its actual utility in couples undergoing IVF or ICSI.

The team has filed a provisional Indian patent for the chemoattractant formulation, while registration of the microfluidic device design is in progress. Once the necessary steps are completed, ICMR plans to transfer the technology to industry for commercialisation.

A more sophisticated sperm-selection method for patients, meanwhile, could eventually help embryologists identify sperm with characteristics that are difficult to assess through conventional techniques, said Dr Richika Sahay Shukla, co-founder and medical director of IndiaIVF Fertility.- EndsPublished By: Sumi DuttaPublished On: Sep 18, 2026 07:30 IST