A barrel-shaped sperm selection device

Abstract

This invention discloses a barrel-shaped sperm selection device for selecting highly motile sperm from semen samples. The device includes a container with a porous membrane inside, which divides the interior of the container into an initial chamber and a filtration chamber. This allows the semen sample to move through the porous membrane to the filtration chamber, achieving the selection purpose. The advantages of this invention are: the overall barrel shape of the device, with the porous membrane arranged on a hub along the axial direction of the cylindrical container to form inner and outer cavities, simplifies the structure and optimizes the principle, greatly reducing the requirements for molds and processes. The barrel-shaped structure with inner and outer cavities prevents semen overflow even when the semen sample volume is too large; and prevents reduced selection rates due to air bubbles even when the semen sample volume is too small.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of sperm selection technology in assisted reproduction, specifically to a barrel-shaped sperm selection device. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, sperm selection methods mainly include upstream methods, density gradient centrifugation, and microfluidic chip sorting. Upstream methods and density gradient centrifugation are traditional, conventional methods, while microfluidic chip sorting is a new technology developed in recent years; however, these methods still have many shortcomings.

[0003] The upstream method is often used for high-quality semen, utilizing the swimming ability of high-quality motile sperm, which can swim across the liquid interface into the clean culture medium, thereby separating themselves from dead sperm, agglutinated sperm, white blood cells, and impurities. However, the upstream time is relatively long, and for the semen of patients with oligospermia or asthenospermia, there may not be enough sperm upstream, resulting in a relatively low recovery rate. Density gradient centrifugation significantly improves the recovery rate of high-quality sperm after multiple transfers and centrifugations, but it is prone to causing sperm DNA peroxidation damage. Microfluidic chip sorting also has many problems in practical applications, such as complex structure and high requirements for molds and processes.

[0004] In microfluidic chip sorting, the sorting chip typically has a top-bottom structure. A double-sided adhesive is used to bond the bottom chamber to a substrate such as a glass slide, and then another double-sided adhesive is used to align and bond the top and bottom chambers. During assembly, a porous membrane filter is sandwiched between the two chambers, making the structure relatively complex. It also requires a high sample loading capacity. Too much capacity may cause semen to overflow from the porous membrane, or dead or low-quality sperm to enter the upper layer, leading to a lower selection rate. Too little capacity may cause air bubbles to form under the membrane, blocking high-motility sperm from passing through the porous membrane, also reducing the selection rate. The process from sample loading and filtration to effluent is unidirectional, resulting in low selection efficiency and long recovery time. Typically, to achieve an 80% selection rate, the recovery time is no less than 6 hours. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides a barrel-shaped sperm selection device. The device is barrel-shaped overall, with a porous membrane arranged on a hub along the axial direction of the cylindrical container to form inner and outer cavities. This simplifies the structure and optimizes the principle, greatly reducing the requirements for molds and processes. It increases the movement channel for motile sperm, reduces selection time, and effectively improves selection efficiency compared to the single-channel direction of traditional chips.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a barrel-shaped sperm selection device for selecting highly motile sperm from a semen sample. The device includes a container with a porous membrane inside, which divides the interior of the container into an initial chamber and a filtration chamber, allowing the semen sample to move through the porous membrane to the filtration chamber, thereby achieving the selection objective.

[0007] Furthermore, the tank body is equipped with a hub frame, and the porous membrane is vertically arranged inside the tank body in a barrel shape by the hub frame. In this way, the porous membrane is vertically enclosed by the hub frame, separating the initial chamber and the filtration chamber, thereby achieving multi-directional filtration.

[0008] Furthermore, the hub is provided with an annular top cover, which tapers upwards from the top of the hub. This prevents splashing during the injection of semen samples, thus avoiding affecting the optimization effect, and also facilitates the encapsulation and installation of the membrane.

[0009] Furthermore, the hub frame is also equipped with a baffle and a horizontal fixing ring. The baffle is located at the lower end of the annular top cover and is sealed to the annular top cover. The horizontal fixing ring is located at the bottom of the baffle. The perforated membrane includes a barrel-shaped perforated membrane and an annular perforated membrane. The annular perforated membrane is sleeved on the baffle. The inner ring of the annular perforated membrane is located on the horizontal fixing ring, and the outer ring of the annular perforated membrane is in contact with the tank body. In this way, by setting up the baffle, the injected semen sample can be prevented from being filtered directly out from the upper end of the barrel-shaped perforated membrane, which would affect the selection effect. The horizontal fixing ring at the bottom of the baffle serves to support and fix the annular perforated membrane.

[0010] Furthermore, the tank body is equipped with a tightening ring, and the outer wall of the tank body gradually narrows towards the tightening ring from the bottom and top. The outer ring of the baffle is in contact with the tightening ring. By setting the tightening ring structure, the selected sperm after secondary filtration can be effectively gathered, facilitating the extraction operation during sampling. The tightening of the outer wall of the tank body at the annular membrane can also further reinforce and fix the annular membrane from the outer ring, providing further reinforcement. At the same time, the area of ​​the annular membrane is reduced, effectively lowering the cost of use.

[0011] Furthermore, the hub frame includes a base, on which a connecting rod is provided, and the annular top cover is mounted on the base via the connecting rod. Thus, with this simple support structure, the hub frame can be effectively fixed to the tank body and the barrel-shaped perforated membrane, and installation is convenient.

[0012] Furthermore, the top of the container is equipped with a lid, which has an injection hole for injecting semen samples and a sampling hole for extracting and selecting the selected sperm. This effectively prevents other impurities from falling into the container during the selection process and affecting the selection results.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment, the injection hole is located at the center of the top of the can lid, directly opposite the initial cavity. Multiple sampling holes are distributed evenly around the outer periphery of the top surface of the can lid. Positioning the injection hole at the center and the sampling holes on the periphery facilitates the extraction of sperm after secondary selection by the operator and allows the sampling tube to be inserted from multiple directions, increasing the sampling success rate and improving selection efficiency.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0015] The device is cylindrical in shape, with the perforated membrane arranged on a hub along the axial direction of the cylindrical tank to form inner and outer cavities. This simplifies the structure and optimizes the principle, greatly reducing the requirements for molds and processes.

[0016] The device adopts a barrel-shaped structure with inner and outer cavities, which will not cause semen leakage when the semen sample volume is too large; and will not reduce the selection rate due to air bubbles when the semen sample volume is too small.

[0017] Furthermore, the traditional upper and lower layer structure for sperm selection has been changed to a selectable method during semen sample loading, allowing operators greater flexibility and ease of operation. The 360° cylindrical barrel-shaped membrane enables multi-directional filtration during loading, filtering, and unloading, increasing the movement channels for motile sperm and reducing selection time. Compared to the single-channel direction of traditional chips, this significantly improves selection efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the usage state of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A top-view structural diagram;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the usage state of Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the tank body and hub.

[0025] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the hub frame installation structure.

[0026] Figure label:

[0027] Tank body 1 (including: tightening ring 1.1), membrane 2 (including: barrel-shaped membrane 2.1, annular membrane 2.2), initial chamber 3, filtration chamber 4, hub 5 (including: annular top cover 5.1, baffle 5.2, horizontal fixing ring 5.3, base 5.4, connecting rod 5.5), tank cover 6 (including: injection hole 6.1, sampling hole 6.2). Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects to be solved by this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0029] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on or indirectly on that other component. When a component is referred to as being "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to or indirectly connected to that other component.

[0030] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0031] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0032] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. "A plurality" means "two or more."

[0033] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0034] like Figures 1-8The illustrated barrel-shaped sperm selection device is used to select highly motile sperm from a semen sample. It includes a container 1, within which a porous membrane 2 divides the interior of the container 1 into an initial chamber 3 and a filtration chamber 4, allowing the semen sample to move through the porous membrane 2 to the filtration chamber 4 for selection. A hub 5 is provided inside the container 1, and the porous membrane 2 is vertically positioned inside the container 1 in a barrel shape via the hub 5. An annular top cover 5.1 is provided on the hub 5, tapering upwards from the top of the hub 5. The hub frame 5 is also equipped with a baffle 5.2 and a horizontal fixing ring 5.3. The baffle 5.2 is located at the lower end of the annular top cover 5.1 and is sealed to the annular top cover 5.1. The horizontal fixing ring 5.3 is located at the bottom of the baffle 5.2. The perforated membrane 2 includes a barrel-shaped perforated membrane 2.1 and an annular perforated membrane 2.2. The annular perforated membrane 2.2 is sleeved on the baffle 5.2. The inner ring of the annular perforated membrane 2.2 is located on the horizontal fixing ring 5.3, and the outer ring of the annular perforated membrane 2.2 is in contact with the tank body 1. The tank body 1 is equipped with a tightening ring 1.1. The outer wall of the tank body 1 gradually narrows from the bottom and top towards the tightening ring 1.1. The outer ring of the baffle 5.2 is in contact with the tightening ring 1.1. The hub frame 5 includes a base 5.4. The base 5.4 is equipped with a connecting rod 5.5. The annular top cover 5.1 is mounted on the base 5.4 through the connecting rod 5.5. The top of the container 1 is provided with a container cover 6, which has an injection hole 6.1 for injecting semen samples and a sampling hole 6.2 for extracting and selecting sperm. The injection hole 6.1 is located at the center of the top of the container cover 6, directly opposite the initial cavity 3. There are multiple sampling holes 6.2, which are evenly distributed on the outer periphery of the top surface of the container cover 6.

[0035] Example 1

[0036] In this embodiment, the tank body 1 is cylindrical, and the hub frame 5 fixes the annular top cover 5.1 through the base 5.4 and the connecting rod 5.5.

[0037] In actual use, the pore membrane 2 is first fitted onto the side wall of the hub 5 using the annular top cover 5.1, ensuring that the upper and lower sides of the pore membrane 2 are sealed to the base 5.4 and the annular top cover 5.1 respectively. Then, the hub 5 is fixed to the bottom of the tank 1 by adhesive or other means, ensuring that the bottom of the hub 5 is sealed to the tank 1. This divides the interior of the tank 1 into a circular initial cavity 3 enclosed by the pore membrane 2 and an annular filtration cavity 4 enclosed by the pore membrane 2 and the tank 1. Sperm washing culture medium is then injected into the initial cavity 3. The semen sample is injected into the initial cavity 3 through the injection hole 6.1 using a pipette. After standing in a 37°C constant temperature incubator or on a 37°C constant temperature heating table for a period of time, the selected sperm is extracted from the filtration cavity 4 through the sampling hole 6.2 using a pipette. If the extraction of selected sperm from a certain direction of the sampling hole 6.2 is not effective, the sampling hole 6.2 can be changed to a different direction to increase the success rate of extracting selected sperm.

[0038] When there is a large amount of semen sample, the semen sample can also be injected into the filtration chamber 4 and the selected sperm can be extracted from the initial chamber 3.

[0039] Example 2

[0040] The difference between this embodiment and embodiment 2 is that the hub frame 5 fixes the annular top cover 5.1 through the base 5.4, connecting rod 5.5, and deflector 5.2. The deflector 5.2 is located at the lower end of the annular top cover 5.1 and is sealed to the annular top cover 5.1. The bottom of the deflector 5.2 is provided with a horizontal fixing ring 5.3, and the other structures are the same.

[0041] In actual use, the barrel-shaped perforated membrane 2.1 is first fitted onto the side wall of the hub frame 5 using the annular top cover 5.1, ensuring that the upper and lower sides of the barrel-shaped perforated membrane 2.1 are sealed to the base 5.4 and the baffle 5.2 respectively. Then, the hub frame 5 is fixed to the bottom surface of the tank body 1 by adhesive or other means, ensuring that the bottom of the hub frame 5 is sealed to the tank body 1. The annular perforated membrane 2.2 is fitted onto the bottom outer ring of the baffle 5.2 using the horizontal fixing ring 5.3, which is close to the tank body 1. This divides the interior of the tank body 1 into a circular initial cavity 3 enclosed by the barrel-shaped perforated membrane 2.1, an annular preliminary filtration cavity 4 enclosed by the barrel-shaped perforated membrane 2.1, the annular perforated membrane 2.2, and the tank body 1, and an annular final filtration cavity 4 enclosed by the annular perforated membrane 2.2 and the baffle 5.2. Sperm rinsing culture medium is then injected into the initial cavity 3. The semen sample is then injected into the initial cavity 3 through the injection hole 6.1 using a pipette. After standing in a 37°C constant temperature incubator or on a 37°C constant temperature heating table for a period of time, the selected sperm is extracted by inserting a pipette into the final filtration cavity 4 through the sampling hole 6.2.

[0042] Depending on the actual usage, if the semen sample is small, it is also possible to choose not to install the annular pore membrane 2.2 and instead use only the barrel-shaped pore membrane 2.1.

[0043] Example 3

[0044] The difference between this embodiment and embodiment 2 is that a tightening ring 1.1 is provided in the middle of the tank body 1, and the whole is shaped like an hourglass, while the other structures are the same.

[0045] In actual use, the annular membrane 2.2 is fitted onto the bottom of the baffle 5.2 via a horizontal fixing ring 5.3, and the outer ring of the annular membrane 2.2 is in contact with the tightening ring 1.1 of the tank body 1. The outer ring of the annular membrane 2.2 can be positioned below the tightening ring 1.1 to prevent semen samples from overflowing from the edge and affecting the optimization efficiency.

[0046] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and should all be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A bowl-shaped sperm preferential device for preferential selection of more motile sperm from a semen sample, characterized in that: The application relates to a sperm sample filtering device, which comprises a tank body (1) provided with a pore membrane (2) inside the tank body (1), the pore membrane (2) separates the tank body (1) into an initial cavity (3) and a filtering cavity (4), so that the sperm sample moves to the filtering cavity (4) through the pore membrane (2) and reaches the preferred purpose. The tank body (1) is provided with a hub frame (5) inside the tank body (1), and the pore membrane (2) is vertically arranged in a barrel shape in the tank body (1) by the hub frame (5). The hub frame (5) is provided with an annular top cover (5.1) arranged on the top of the hub frame (5) and gradually tapered upwards. The hub frame (5) is further provided with a flow blocking cover (5.2) and a horizontal fixing ring (5.3), the flow blocking cover (5.2) is arranged at the lower end of the annular top cover (5.1) and is in sealing connection with the annular top cover (5.1), the horizontal fixing ring (5.3) is arranged at the bottom of the flow blocking cover (5.2), the pore membrane (2) comprises a barrel-shaped pore membrane (2.1) and an annular pore membrane (2.2), the annular pore membrane (2.2) is sleeved on the flow blocking cover (5.2), the inner ring of the annular pore membrane (2.2) is arranged on the horizontal fixing ring (5.3), and the outer ring of the annular pore membrane (2.2) is in abutment with the tank body (1). The hub frame (5) comprises a base (5.4), the base (5.4) is provided with a connecting rod (5.5), and the annular top cover (5.1) is arranged on the base (5.4) through the connecting rod (5.5).

2. A barrel sperm-preferential device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tank body (1) is provided with a shrink ring (1.1), the outer wall of the tank body (1) is gradually tapered from the bottom and the top to the shrink ring (1.1), and the outer ring of the flow blocking cover (5.2) is in abutment with the shrink ring (1.1).

3. A barrel sperm-preferential device according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that: The tank body (1) is provided with a tank cover (6) at the top, the tank cover (6) is provided with an injection hole (6.1) for injecting the sperm sample and a sampling hole (6.2) for extracting the preferred sperm.

4. A barrel sperm-preferential device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The injection hole (6.1) is arranged at the top center of the tank cover (6) and faces the initial cavity (3), and the sampling hole (6.2) is provided with a plurality of sampling holes (6.2) which are uniformly distributed on the outer periphery of the top surface of the tank cover (6).

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