Abstract
A digital holographic microscope (DHM) has been employed in the retrieval and analysis of morphological images of bovines sperm cells. Digital holography is a noncontact technique capable of investigating the shape of the sample without altering its characteristics and has been used for the first time in retrieving quantitative morphological information of sperm cells. Different spermatozoa have been analyzed by means of this technique allowing us to obtain 3-D images with precise topographical details and valuable information about morphological defects, provided with biological considerations. Moreover, by making use of a microfluidic system, the digital holographic technique has been employed to analyze unstained spermatozoa in their natural physiological surroundings. Detailed information on morphological images of spermatozoa acquired by DHM is expected to provide a better understanding of various reproductive pathways, which, in turn, can help in improving infertility management. This could constitute the basis of an alternative method for the zoothecnic industry aimed at the investigation of morphological features and the sorting of the motile sperm cells.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 833-840 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | IEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Jul 2010 |
Funding
Manuscript received July 31, 2009; revised September 9, 2009, October 3, 2009, and October 25, 2009; accepted October 27, 2009. Date of publication January 26, 2010; date of current version August 6, 2010. This work was supported in part by the Ministero delle politiche Agricole e Forestali under Project SESsaggio Seme Italiano Bovino (SESSIBOV)—Ministero Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali (MiPAAF) 9106/7303/2009.
Keywords
- digital holography microscope (DHM)
- in vivo cell analysis
- label-free analysis
- microfluidic
- quantitative phase-contrast map
- zootechny