Three-dimensional live imaging of bovine embryos by optical coherence tomography |
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| Authors: | Yasumitsu MASUDA Ryo HASEBE Yasushi KUROMI Masayoshi KOBAYASHI Misaki IWAMOTO Mitsugu HISHINUMA Tetsuya OHBAYASHI Ryo NISHIMURA |
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| Institution: | 1)Department of Animal Science, Tottori Livestock Research Center, Tottori 689-2503, Japan;2)SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd., Kyoto 612-8486, Japan;3)Laboratory of Theriogenology, Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori 680-8553, Japan;4)Organization for Research Initiative and Promotion, Tottori University, Tottori 680-8550, Japan |
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| Abstract: | While embryo transfer (ET) is widely practiced, many of the transferred embryos fail to develop in cattle. To establish a more effective method for selecting bovine embryos for ET, here we quantified morphological parameters of living embryos using three-dimensional (3D) images non-invasively captured by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Seven Japanese Black embryos produced by in vitro fertilization that had reached the expanded blastocyst stage after 7 days of culture were transferred after imaged by OCT. Twenty-two parameters, including thickness and volumes of the inner cell mass, trophectoderm, and zona pellucida, and volumes of blastocoel and whole embryo, were quantified from 3D images. Four of the seven recipients became pregnant. We suggest that these 22 parameters can be potentially employed to evaluate the quality of bovine embryos before ET. |
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| Keywords: | 3D image Blastocyst bovine embryo transfer Embryo evaluation Optical coherence tomography Quantification of embryo structures |
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