Sperm Selection in ART

Selection of sperm is a crucial part in assisted reproductive treament (ART). Sperm preparation methods do mainly differentiate according to sperm motility and are indispensable for therapies like intrauterine insemination, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Although in the beginning of the era of ICSI andrology was thought to play a minor role, ICSI has offered new options by correlating the treatment outcome to parameters of the individual applied spermatozoon. Hence the possibility for selecting spermatozoa has shifted from parameters which characterize the entire sperm cohort to a single-sperm specific assessment technology. Consequently, sperm selection is a topic which is intensively discussed nowadays. This article gives a comprehensive overview of the technologies which can be applied today and give a prospective on future techniques.