IMSI Treatment in India

What is IMSI Treatment?

A fertility clinic in India that offers ICSI, Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, usually also offers IMSI as the latter is a technique that builds upon the benefits of the former. So while an egg is injected with a sperm in ICSI, IMSI refines that process further by carefully selecting the best sperm before injecting it into an egg.

IMSI is made possible by the use of a high power microscope that is capable of magnifying an image by over 6,000 times or even more. With such a high level of magnification, the embryologist is able to detect minute structural variations in the sperm of a semen sample that would have otherwise not been visible with a normal microscope. After carefully sifting through the sample, the embryologist chooses a morphologically fit sperm for injecting into the egg.

Once the most viable sperm has been isolated, the IMSI treatment follows the exact same procedure as ICSI.

Why is IMSI Treatment Performed

The IMSI procedure enables embryologists to prevent structurally deficient or abnormal sperm from entering an egg and fertilizing it. The procedure is also favourable for men who have a higher than normal amount of abnormal sperm in their semen. IMSI is also preferred who haven’t had success with previous IVF-ICSI attempts. In such cases, an IMSI IVF process acts as an enhanced selection mechanism that can possibly increase the chances of fertilization and normal embryo growth.

As mentioned above in IMSI, the sperm sample of the male partner is magnified up to 6,000 times. That allows embryologists to identify and exclude sperm that shows any kind of structural abnormalities. Compare this to traditional techniques of selecting sperms, the embryologist observing sperms at just 400 times magnification.