This was reported on the website of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science’s subordinate Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Sociocenter.
Traditional selection of biomaterial for transfer is carried out manually by specialists under a microscope, which leaves room for error. The new system addresses this problem comprehensively.
A special camera captures specific characteristics of the embryo that are invisible to the eye. The spectral data obtained are instantly processed by machine-learning algorithms, after which the system delivers an objective verdict on the quality of the material.
As Elena Gubareva, head of the Laboratory of Cell Engineering and Reproductive Technologies at Kuban State Agrarian University, explained, the shift from visual inspection to digital tools will take the embryo transfer procedure to a qualitatively new level.
"Hyperspectral analysis makes it possible to study characteristics that cannot be determined during ordinary microscopic observation. Combined with machine-learning algorithms, this opens up new opportunities to improve the efficiency of embryo transfer and develop the genetic potential of domestic livestock," the university representative said.
Earlier, Veterinariya i Zhizn reported that St. Petersburg veterinarians plan to use in vitro to obtain up to 100 calves from one cows.
