[Laser assisted intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a more effective and faster technique of immobilization of spermatozoa than traditional one].

AIM: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is employed routinely in the assisted reproductive technique, in particular in case of male factor infertility. Recently, some options have been introduced in the micromanipulation system employed in ICSI, improving the performance of this technique. One of these is a no-contact laser, mostly used for the assisted hatching and the blastomere biopsy in preimplantation genetic diagnosis. One of the most important step of the ICSI technique is the sperm immobilization. Normally, this is performed by the operator and needs some time. METHODS: A one-year perspective-comparative study has been carried out and the results obtained with the traditional technique of immobilization of spermatozoa have been compared with those obtained with the laser technique (spermatozoa previously immobilized by no-contact laser). We have evaluated 3 parameters: 1) fertilization rate; 2) cleavage rate and 3) time needed to immobilize sperm. RESULTS: Some interesting findings have been observed: the embryo quality, fertilization rate and cleavage rate seem the same in both groups. The most interesting finding is the drastic reduction of the time needed for microinjection when the laser technique is used. CONCLUSIONS: This technique will reduce the total time needed to perform the ICSI, decreasing the time of exposure of the gametes outside the incubator and reducing the possibility of irreversible damage.