A Hand-Held Platform for Boar Sperm Viability Diagnosis Based on Smartphone

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Science
• Biotechnology
• Agricultural Engineering

Background:

• Swine fever impacts pork production, necessitating improved pig breeding efficiency.
• Boar sperm activity detection is crucial for successful pig reproduction.
• Traditional sperm analysis methods are cumbersome and scenario-limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a portable, smartphone-based system for boar sperm activity diagnosis.
• To overcome the limitations of traditional, bulky laboratory equipment for sperm analysis.
• To enhance the efficiency and accessibility of boar sperm quality assessment.

Main Methods:

• Designed a microfluidic chip with a 20 µm channel to restrict sperm to 2D movement.
• Developed a palm-sized, miniature microscope system with ~38x magnification for smartphone integration.
• Created an intelligent diagnostic app using Java for automated sperm identification and tracking.

Main Results:

• The microfluidic chip effectively simulated oviduct conditions for sperm movement.
• The smartphone-based microscope system provided a portable and user-friendly alternative.
• The diagnostic app achieved 96.08% boar sperm recognition and 86% average tracking rate.

Conclusions:

• The smartphone-based hand-held platform effectively diagnoses boar sperm activity.
• This system offers a smaller, easier-to-use, and more versatile alternative to traditional methods.
• The technology has the potential to significantly improve pig breeding efficiency and pork production.