The purpose of the research has been to increase the consistency and efficiency rates of blastocyst microinjections through automation. The research involved the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel biomanipulation system that is a test-bed for applying intelligent control algorithms. The microinjection process was controlled from a computer via a joystick or by software controllers. These included real-time video processing for the acquisition of experimental data and control. Teleoperated microinjections under the control of both expert and novice operators showed that the system is effective, easy to use, and capable of eliminating the need for the extensive training of microinjection personnel. Experimental results showed that all operators obtained a microinjection success rate over 80%, demonstrating a significant improvement over the tradition manual microinjections. Furthermore, blastocysts injected using this system were more likely to develop to term, and to yield chimeras, than blastocysts injected using the traditional manual method. The experiments also highlighted common problems encountered during the blastocyst microinjection stage, allowing the design and development of effective control algorithms to guide the teleoperated and automatic microinjections. Overall, this research contributed to the full automation of blastocyst microinjection by: 1) significantly improving the microinjection process; 2) significantly improving the microinjection efficiency; 3) creating a new system design optimized for computer controlled microinjections; 4) implementing and evaluating speed-up methods that enable real-time template matching; 5) creating new algorithms to identify and analyze blastocyst images; 6) designing and conducting preliminary tests with control algorithms that automate the microinjection process.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-05142007-120831 |
| Date | 18 May 2007 |
| Creators | Mattos, Leonardo Serra |
| Contributors | Edward Grant, Donald Bitzer, Troy Nagle, John Muth, Randy Thresher |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-05142007-120831/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dis sertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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