MITERA Assisted Reproduction Unit: The new IMSI technique improves the quality of embryos and reduces the risk of miscarriage

The new IMSI technique (intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection) adopted by the Assisted Reproduction Unit of the MITERA Obstetrics Clinic improves the quality of embryos and reduces the risk of miscarriage.
This is a recently-developed innovative technique in the area of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and complements the existing ICSI technique (intracytoplasmic sperm injection).
It is a real-time method, whereby sperm cells are selected prior to being injected in the egg (ICSI). Embryologist Giles Palmer, Director of the Assisted Reproduction Unit, remarked, “A much higher sperm magnification rate (approximately 6,000 times) is achieved with the assistance of an improved inverted microscope, compared to the magnification achieved in reproduction units to date (200 times) with the ICSI method, allowing us to observe the internal morphology of sperm cells. This way, the selection of spermatozoa that manifests anomalies which would jeopardize the success of the therapy is avoided.”
This method has been tested on spermatozoa of men with severe anomalies, as well as in cases of frequent miscarriages and repeated, non-successful IVF attempts.
“Actually, at the MITERA IVF Unit lab, after selecting the morphologically normal sperm cells, we also test their biochemistry, which demonstrates their maturity,” added Mr. Panagiotis Karantzis, Scientific Director “In our efforts to continuously improve our Unit’s success rates we now offer IMSI, assessing in the best possible manner the quality of spermatozoa we select to fertilize the eggs,” he added.