Abstract
Study and development of a multimodal micromechanical/optical device for the maturity characterization of human oocytes
During arti_cial fertilization attempt, whether in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracyto-
plasmic injection (ICSI), clinician have to select mature oocytes in order to maximise
pregnancy opportunity. This quali_cation is based on visual estimation of the morphol-
ogy of oocytes under microscope. The clinician observes in the cytoplasm of supposed
mature oocytes the presence of a polar body and the lack of a nucleus. Unfortunately,
the results obtained by this method are not accurate enough. The ultimate aim of our
research work is to develop a device able to qualify oocytes with more precision and
to determine the perfect moment for successful fertilization using di_erent modality of
characterization (mechanical, optical and morphological). This work is inspired by the
previous researches already done by the Automatic and Micro Mecratronic department
and the Optic department of the FEMTO-ST institute. The mechanic characterization
is performed with a low cost and disposable nanoforce sensor based on magnetic springs.
The optical characterization consist in measuring the transmission spectra and refrac-
tion index of the oocyte using an optical microsystem. Regarding the morphological
characterization, we take pictures of the oocyte and analyse it using image processing
techniques.