A device for separating and obtaining sperm in seminiferous tubules of male testicles

Abstract

A device for separating and obtaining sperm in male testicular seminiferous tubules, wherein the top of a rotating shaft is fixedly connected to a driving device, and the bottom of the rotating shaft is connected to a cutter head for cutting seminiferous tubule tissue; the wall thickness of the opening at the bottom end of the shell is thinner than the wall thickness of the shell; the upper surface of the knife seat is detachably connected to the rotating shaft; the blade assembly includes no less than three concentrically arranged blade rings; each blade ring includes a plurality of blades arranged at intervals and forming a circle around the center of the lower surface of the knife seat; the top of the blade is fixed on the lower surface of the knife seat, and the bottom end of the blade has a blade edge; the blade edge is in an arc shape that tapers downward, and the bottom edge of the blade edge is flush with the bottom opening of the shell, and the blade edges of the blades in each blade ring are spirally arranged along the rotation direction of the rotating shaft. The invention realizes the beneficial effects of fast, convenient, and comfortable operation, efficient and thorough discrete cutting of seminiferous tubules, little damage to testicular sperm, and effective avoidance of cross contamination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of medical instruments, and in particular to a device for separating and obtaining sperm in seminiferous tubules of male testicles. Background Art

[0002] In order to implement intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to achieve the goal of successful assisted pregnancy, it is necessary to separate and obtain the sperm in the seminiferous tubules of the testicles through a certain method.

[0003] At present, most reproductive medical centers generally use 1ml syringes and use their needle tips to pull and tear the seminiferous tubules immersed in culture medium in order to separate sperm from the seminiferous tubules. However, in actual operation, this method has many shortcomings, as follows:

[0004] 1. Inconvenient operation, time-consuming and laborious: To pull and tear the microscopic tissue of the seminiferous tubule, one must first fix one end of the seminiferous tubule with a fine needle. The tip of the fine needle and the width of the seminiferous tubule are both extremely narrow, which results in the need to frequently change the position of the needle tip when pressing and fixing. The tearing also requires multiple reciprocating operations because the seminiferous tubule is too slender;

[0005] 2. It has a great impact on testicular sperm. In order to completely peel the sperm from the seminiferous tubules, it often takes a long time of repeated pulling and tearing. The operation of the culture dish in an open environment for too long will inevitably cause the temperature of the culture environment to drop, resulting in a further decrease in the vitality of the already poor testicular sperm. In addition, during the process of pulling and tearing, the operator will inevitably cause the testicular tissue and sperm to stick to the bottom of the culture dish due to uneven force, resulting in the loss of some sperm;

[0006] 3. Produce noise and cause discomfort: When repeatedly scratching the bottom of the plastic dish with the needle tip, a sharp and piercing sound may occasionally be heard, which may cause great discomfort to the operator and even cause anxiety.

[0007] In addition, Chinese patent CN202595145U uses a grinding net and a grinding rod to collect sperm, but this method has the disadvantage that the seminiferous tubule tissue and sperm adhere to the grinding net, which is not conducive to sperm separation, and the downward physical squeezing is also likely to cause certain damage to the sperm. Summary of the invention

[0008] The present application provides a device for separating and obtaining sperm from the seminiferous tubules of male testicles, so as to overcome the defects of inefficient, incomplete and severe sperm damage in the prior art of separating sperm from the seminiferous tubules, and achieve the beneficial effects of fast, convenient and comfortable operation, efficient and thorough discrete cutting of the seminiferous tubules, little damage to testicular sperm and effective avoidance of cross-contamination.

[0009] The technical solution of the present invention to solve the above problems is:

[0010] The embodiment of the present application provides a device for separating and obtaining sperm in the seminiferous tubules of male testicles, the device comprising a cylindrical shell, the interior of the shell is hollow, and a rotating shaft and a driving device for driving the rotating shaft to rotate are coaxially arranged in the shell; the top end of the rotating shaft extends upward along the axial direction of the shell and is fixedly connected to the driving device, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft extends downward along the axial direction of the shell and is connected to a cutter head for cutting the seminiferous tubule tissue;

[0011] The bottom end of the shell is open, and the wall thickness at the opening is thinner than the wall thickness of the shell, so as to form a thin bottom edge that is convenient for pressing and fixing the seminiferous tubule tissue;

[0012] The cutter head comprises a cutter seat and a blade assembly, wherein the upper surface of the cutter seat is detachably connected to the rotating shaft driving the cutter seat to rotate; the blade assembly comprises no less than three concentrically arranged blade rings, each of which is arranged on the lower surface of the cutter seat from the center of the circle of the lower surface of the cutter seat in a radially outward manner; each of the blade rings comprises a plurality of blades arranged at intervals and forming a circle around the center of the circle of the lower surface of the cutter seat;

[0013] The top end of the blade is fixed on the lower surface of the blade seat, and the bottom end of the blade has a blade edge; the blade is in an arc shape that tapers downward, and the bottom edge of the blade is flush with the bottom opening of the shell, and the blade edges of the blades in each blade circle are arranged spirally along the rotation direction of the rotating shaft.

[0014] Furthermore, the driving device includes a motor, and the motor, a power supply, and a switch form a series circuit, and the power supply is located at the top of the shell, and the switch is exposed from the shell.

[0015] Furthermore, the device also includes a reducer, and the top end of the rotating shaft is connected to the motor through the reducer.

[0016] Furthermore, a fixing plate is laid inside the shell, the fixing plate is perpendicular to the axial direction of the shell, and the outer edge of the fixing plate is fixed to the inner wall of the shell, the power supply is fixed on the upper surface of the fixing plate, and the motor is fixed on the lower surface of the fixing plate.

[0017] Furthermore, the power source is specifically a lithium battery.

[0018] Furthermore, a support plate is provided in the outer shell, and a bearing plate is stacked above the support plate, the outer edge of the support plate and the outer edge of the bearing plate are fixed on the inner wall surface of the outer shell, and the support plate and the bearing plate are perpendicular to the central axis of the outer shell; the middle of the support plate and the middle of the support plate are provided with through holes for the rotating shaft to rotatably pass through, the top end of the rotating shaft is located above the upper bearing plate, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft coaxially passes through the two through holes and is connected to the cutter head.

[0019] Furthermore, the reducer is fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the bearing plate.

[0020] Furthermore, a finger groove group for easy hand holding is provided on the outer wall surface of the shell, and the finger grooves include four finger grooves located on one side of the shell and one finger groove arranged on the other side of the shell.

[0021] Furthermore, the upper surface of the knife seat is provided with a groove, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft is inserted into the groove.

[0022] Furthermore, the knife seat is circular, and the diameter of the knife seat is smaller than the inner diameter of the shell, so as to allow the knife seat to rotate in the shell.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the present invention are mainly manifested in:

[0024] (1) The blade assembly includes no less than 3 blade rings, that is, the blade has no less than three layers from the outside to the inside, which can completely separate sperm from the seminiferous tubules and ensure the high efficiency of cutting the seminiferous tubules, thereby solving the defects of inefficient and incomplete sperm separation from the seminiferous tubules in the prior art; the design that the bottom edge of the blade is flush with the thin bottom edge of the shell reduces the damage to the sperm, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of cutting the seminiferous tubules, thereby solving the defect of large damage to the sperm in the prior art of separating sperm from the seminiferous tubules.

[0025] (2) The wall thickness at the bottom opening gradually becomes thinner to form a thin bottom edge. The bottom opening of the shell can firmly press and fix the slender and curled seminiferous tubules collected in a 35 mm circular culture dish and wrap it within the entire circumference, thereby better fixing the seminiferous tubules tissue, thereby ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of cutting the seminiferous tubules.

[0026] (3) The rotating shaft can drive the cutter head below to rotate at an appropriate speed under the drive and control of the motor and the reducer, so as to achieve rapid and thorough discrete cutting of the seminiferous tubule tissue, while avoiding sample splashing caused by too fast rotation cutting speed.

[0027] (4) The cutter head is detachably connected to the rotating shaft, which facilitates the replacement of the cutter head and ensures that one cutter head can process one seminiferous tubule sample, thereby avoiding cross contamination between samples.

[0028] (5) The size of the shell is designed based on the actual length, thickness, and number of the micro-sperm tubules obtained during surgery, and has good targeting and matching properties.

[0029] (6) The finger groove combination makes it easier to grasp the slender shell, thereby ensuring the accuracy of operation.

[0030] (7) The use of lithium batteries makes the entire device more environmentally friendly when in use.

[0031] (8) In summary, the present invention has the advantages of being quick, convenient and comfortable to operate, efficient and thorough in discrete cutting of the seminiferous tubules, little damage to testicular sperm and effective avoidance of cross contamination. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the device described in one embodiment;

[0033] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 a top view of the cutter head of the illustrated device;

[0034] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Bottom view of the cutter head of the device shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0036] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0038] Referring to the accompanying drawings, this embodiment provides a device for separating and obtaining sperm from seminiferous tubules of male testicles, the device comprising a cylindrical shell 2, the interior of the shell 2 being hollow, and a rotating shaft 1 and a driving device for driving the rotating shaft 1 to rotate are coaxially arranged in the shell 2; the top end of the rotating shaft 1 extends upward along the axial direction of the shell 2 and is fixedly connected to the driving device, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft 1 extends downward along the axial direction of the shell 2 and is connected to a cutter head 3 for cutting seminiferous tubule tissue;

[0039] Specifically, the rotating shaft 1 is cylindrical, and the size of the housing 2 is designed according to the actual length, thickness, and number of the micro-spermian tubules obtained during surgery, and has good targeting and matching.

[0040] The bottom end of the shell 2 is open, and the wall thickness at the opening is thinner than the wall thickness of the shell 2, so as to form a thin bottom edge 21 that is convenient for pressing and fixing the seminiferous tubule tissue;

[0041] Specifically, the wall thickness at the bottom opening gradually becomes thinner, and the thickness at the bottom is 0.2 mm, forming a thin bottom edge 21 .

[0042] Specifically, the bottom opening of the housing 2 can firmly press and fix the slender and curled seminiferous tubule tissue collected in a 35 mm round culture dish, and wrap it within the circumference of the entire bottom opening.

[0043] The cutter head 3 comprises a cutter seat and a blade assembly, wherein the upper surface of the cutter seat is detachably connected to the rotating shaft 1 driving the cutter seat to rotate; the blade assembly comprises no less than three concentrically arranged blade rings, each of which is arranged on the lower surface of the cutter seat from the center of the circle of the lower surface of the cutter seat in a radially outward manner; each of the blade rings comprises a plurality of blades 32 arranged at intervals and forming a circle around the center of the circle of the lower surface of the cutter seat;

[0044] Specifically, the cutter head 3 is detachably connected to the rotating shaft 1, so that the cutter head 3 can be easily replaced, and one cutter head 3 can be used to process one seminiferous tubule sample, thereby avoiding cross contamination between samples.

[0045] The top end of the blade 32 is fixed on the lower surface of the blade seat, and the bottom end of the blade has a blade; the blade is in an arc shape that tapers downward, and the bottom edge of the blade is flush with the bottom opening of the shell 2, and the blades of the blades 31 in each blade circle are arranged spirally along the rotation direction of the rotating shaft 1.

[0046] Specifically, the blade assembly includes no less than 3 blade rings, the blade 32 is provided with no less than three layers from the outside to the inside, and the design that the bottom edge of the blade is flush with the thin bottom edge of the shell ensures the effectiveness (i.e., little damage to sperm) and high efficiency of cutting the seminiferous tubules.

[0047] Furthermore, the driving device includes a motor 4 , and the motor 4 forms a series circuit with a power source 8 and a switch 7 . The power source 8 is located at the top of the housing, and the switch 7 is exposed outside the housing 2 .

[0048] Specifically, the motor 4 is connected in series with the power source 8 and the switch 7 via an electric conductor 6. The switch 7 is exposed from the housing 2 for easy operation by a user.

[0049] Furthermore, the device further comprises a reducer 5, and the top end of the rotating shaft 1 is connected to the motor via the reducer 5;

[0050] Specifically, the rotating shaft 1 can drive the cutter head 3 below to rotate at an appropriate speed under the drive control of the motor 4 and the reducer 5, so as to quickly and thoroughly discretely cut the seminiferous tubule tissue, while avoiding sample splashing caused by too fast rotation cutting speed.

[0051] Furthermore, a fixing plate is laid inside the shell, the fixing plate is perpendicular to the axial direction of the shell, and the outer edge of the fixing plate is fixed to the inner wall of the shell, the power supply 8 is fixed on the upper surface of the fixing plate, and the motor is fixed on the lower surface of the fixing plate.

[0052] Furthermore, the power source 8 is specifically a lithium battery.

[0053] In particular, the use of lithium batteries makes the device more environmentally friendly when used.

[0054] Furthermore, a support plate 91 is provided in the outer shell 2, and a bearing plate 9 is stacked above the support plate 91. The outer edge of the support plate 91 and the outer edge of the bearing plate 9 are fixed on the inner wall surface of the outer shell 2, and the support plate 91 and the bearing plate 9 are perpendicular to the central axis of the outer shell; the middle of the support plate 91 and the middle of the support plate 9 are provided with through holes for the rotating shaft 1 to rotatably pass through, the top end of the rotating shaft 1 is located on the upper bearing plate 9, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft coaxially passes through the two through holes and is connected to the cutter head.

[0055] Furthermore, the reducer is fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the bearing plate 9 .

[0056] Furthermore, a finger groove group 22 for easy hand holding is provided on the outer wall surface of the shell 2 , and the finger grooves include four finger grooves located on one side of the shell and one finger groove arranged on the other side of the shell 2 .

[0057] Specifically, the finger groove group 22 facilitates the gripping of the elongated housing 2 .

[0058] Furthermore, a groove 31 is provided on the upper surface of the tool holder, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft 1 is inserted into the groove 31 .

[0059] Specifically, the groove 31 matches with the rotating shaft 1 , and the groove 31 is in the shape of a hollow cylinder.

[0060] Furthermore, the knife seat is circular, and the diameter of the knife seat is smaller than the inner diameter of the housing 2 , so as to allow the knife seat to rotate in the housing 2 .

[0061] Specifically, the inner diameter of the housing 2 is 10 mm, and the diameter of the knife seat is 9 mm.

[0062] The method of use of the present invention is:

[0063] (1) After obtaining the seminiferous tubule tissue of the male patient's testicle from the operating room, quickly place the 35 mm round culture dish containing the seminiferous tubule tissue on a constant temperature clean bench at 37°C;

[0064] (2) Holding the housing 2 of the device of this embodiment, the thin and pointed bottom edge 21 at the bottom of the housing 2 is pressed to fix one side of the seminiferous tubules of the testis, and the entire seminiferous tubule tissue is wrapped within the thin bottom edge 21;

[0065] (3) Turn on the switch 7, keep the blades 32 of the cutter head 3 against the bottom of the dish, and drive the cutter head 3 to rotate at a speed of 300 rpm for 5 to 10 seconds under the drive of the rotating shaft 1, and then turn off the switch 7;

[0066] (4) Take a Pasteur pipette, aspirate the culture medium in the round dish, blow the culture medium to the bottom of the blade 33, and rinse the discrete seminiferous tubules from the bottom of the blade 3 into the culture dish. After routine blowing and mixing, the sperm in the separated testicular seminiferous tubules can be checked under a microscope, and the remaining testicular sperm can be placed in a constant temperature and humidity incubator at 37°C without CO2 in preparation for the subsequent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) fertilization operation.

[0067] The contents described in the embodiments of this specification are merely an enumeration of implementation forms of the inventive concept. The protection scope of the present invention should not be regarded as limited to the specific forms described in the embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention also includes equivalent technical means that can be thought of by those skilled in the art based on the inventive concept.

Claims

1. A device for separating and obtaining sperm from seminiferous tubules of male testicles, characterized in that: The device comprises a cylindrical shell, the interior of which is hollow, and a rotating shaft and a driving device for driving the rotating shaft to rotate are coaxially arranged in the shell; the top end of the rotating shaft extends upward along the axial direction of the shell and is fixedly connected to the driving device, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft extends downward along the axial direction of the shell and is connected to a cutter head for cutting seminiferous tubule tissue; The bottom end of the shell is open, and the wall thickness at the opening is thinner than the wall thickness of the shell, so as to form a thin bottom edge that is convenient for pressing and fixing the seminiferous tubule tissue; The cutter head comprises a cutter seat and a blade assembly, wherein the upper surface of the cutter seat is detachably connected to the rotating shaft driving the cutter seat to rotate; the blade assembly comprises no less than three concentrically arranged blade rings, each of which is arranged on the lower surface of the cutter seat from the center of the circle of the lower surface of the cutter seat in a radially outward manner; each of the blade rings comprises a plurality of blades arranged at intervals and forming a circle around the center of the circle of the lower surface of the cutter seat; The top end of the blade is fixed on the lower surface of the blade seat, and the bottom end of the blade has a blade edge; the blade edge is in an arc shape that tapers downward, and the bottom edge of the blade edge is flush with the bottom opening of the shell, and the blade edges of the blades in each blade circle are arranged in a spiral along the rotation direction of the rotating shaft; The driving device comprises a motor, the motor, a power source and a switch form a series circuit, the power source is located at the top of the housing, and the switch is exposed outside the housing; The device also includes a reducer, and the top end of the rotating shaft is connected to the motor through the reducer; A fixing plate is laid inside the shell, the fixing plate is perpendicular to the axial direction of the shell, and the outer edge of the fixing plate is fixed to the inner wall of the shell, the power source is fixed on the upper surface of the fixing plate, and the motor is fixed on the lower surface of the fixing plate; The power source is specifically a lithium battery.

2. A device for separating and obtaining sperm in the seminiferous tubules of a male testis as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A support plate is provided in the outer shell, and a bearing plate is stacked on the support plate. The outer edges of the support plate and the bearing plate are fixed on the inner wall surface of the outer shell, and the support plate and the bearing plate are perpendicular to the central axis of the outer shell; a through hole for the rotating shaft to rotatably pass through is provided in the middle of the support plate and the middle of the carrier plate, and the top end of the rotating shaft is located above the upper bearing plate, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft coaxially passes through the two through holes and is connected to the cutter head.

3. A device for separating and obtaining sperm in the seminiferous tubules of a male testis as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The reducer is fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the bearing plate.

4. A device for separating and obtaining sperm in the seminiferous tubules of male testicles as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A finger groove group for easy hand holding is arranged on the outer wall surface of the shell, and the finger grooves include four finger grooves located on one side of the shell and one finger groove arranged on the other side of the shell.

5. The device for separating and obtaining sperm in the seminiferous tubules of male testicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper surface of the knife seat is provided with a groove, and the bottom end of the rotating shaft is inserted into the groove.

6. The device for separating and obtaining sperm in the seminiferous tubules of male testicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The knife seat is circular, and a diameter of the knife seat is smaller than an inner diameter of the shell, so as to allow the knife seat to rotate in the shell.

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