Physiological ICSI or Preselected

Physiological ICSI or Preselected

Physiological ICSI or Preselected ICSI (PICSI) is the method of choosing the ideal sperm for microinjection on a principle similar to that in the human body. The sperms are applied onto a PICSI dish covered with a hyaluronic hydrogel layer. Hyaluronan is a biopolymer that is present in the oocyte shell. Mature, biochemically competent sperms, bind to hyaluronan and are selected by an embryologist for the ICSI. Research has confirmed that sperms selected by binding to the hyaluronate layer are mature, showing fewer DNA breaks and fewer chromosomal aneuploidies.

Indication for ICSI and PICSI
• low sperm count (oligospermia)
• low percentage of motile sperm (asthenospermia)
• high percentage of the sperms with abnormal shape (teratozoospermia)
• absence of sperms in the ejaculate (azoospermia) – in the case of azoospermia and in indicated instances, sperms may be acquired from the urine (retrograde ejaculation) or surgically from the testicle
• spermiogram parameters are in fact within standards, but anti-sperm antibodies are present; despite the optimal spermiogram, fertilization failure occurred in the previous cycle
• in women with a low number of the ova acquired, low quality of the ova, with endometriosis diagnosed, and in those over 35 years of age