ArticleJournal of biomedical optics2025
Optimizing optical coherence tomography to detect occult spermatozoa in rat testis after induced non-obstructive azoospermia.
Article in Journal of biomedical optics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Significance: The ability to detect and localize sperm in the testes is crucial for the treatment of non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), a condition where sperm retrieval is challenging due to the lack of visible sperm. Enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of sperm detection can significantly improve the outcomes of microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) procedures in NOA patients. Aim: We aim to use optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect the presence or absence of sperm in the imaged areas of the testes and to localize sperm-containing seminiferous tubules in a rat model of NOA. Approach: Volumetric OCT scanning was performed on 180 distinct regions from the testes of two control and 15 busulfan-treated rats to mimic NOA. Following scanning, excised tubules were observed under a dissecting microscope with transillumination to confirm the presence of sperm. The OCT data were processed by first delineating the tubule lumen and then evaluating the calibrated intensity and attenuation coefficient within the lumen. These quantifications, along with outer tubule diameter, were evaluated to identify sperm by comparison with the results of the microscope examination. Results: Our OCT results revealed a significant correlation between the presence of sperm and high attenuation coefficients in a rat model of NOA. The accuracy of sperm detection by OCT is 97.8% when compared with microscopic identification. In addition, OCT data were utilized for color-coded processing to automatically distinguish regions with a greater likelihood of the presence of sperm, which may assist surgeons in locating occult sperm in NOA patients. Conclusions: By providing high-resolution, non-invasive, automatic capture, and color-coded images, OCT has the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency of identification of tubules with spermatozoa during micro-TESE.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.