The Efficacy of a Manual Microfluidic Dish Compared with the Discontinuous Gradient Centrifugation Method for Sperm Selection in ICSI Cycles

Introduction

Microfluidic sperm selection systems (MFSSs) have emerged as centrifugation-free alternatives to conventional sperm preparation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation (DGC), which may induce oxidative stress and sperm DNA damage. Although commercial MFSS devices have shown potential benefits, their clinical use is limited by cost and reliance on proprietary systems. Manual MFSS has been proposed as a simplified and cost-effective alternative. However, the clinical effectiveness of MFSS, particularly in relation to embryological and clinical outcomes in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), remains largely unvalidated.