5-Dimensional High-Resolution non-invasive assessment of mammalian Embryos (5DHiResE)

到2050年，全球人口将从70亿增加到90亿，对自然资源的压力越来越大。人们的饮食习惯也在向更多的肉类和乳制品转变，这意味着全球对粮食、土地、能源、水和其他资源（如磷肥）的需求正在增加。由于城市化和工业化给土地使用带来了更大的压力，农业正在争夺资源，而畜牧业面临着寻找新方法来满足这一需求的挑战。猪和牛养殖公司的常规做法是将动物运送到育种计划不发达的国家，以提高当地品种的质量。然而，尽管相关公司有基于证据的保证，这些程序在财务、环境和后勤方面的成本都很高，并引发了道德问题。这些因素导致猪和牛胚胎的体外生产（IVP）越来越引起生产者的兴趣，因为可以获得巨大的经济和环境效益。猪和牛占世界肉类消费量的60%和牛奶消费量的85%，通过使用这些胚胎，可以大大提高遗传改良的速度和效率。它还使我们能够以高动物福利、低成本和生物安全的方式促进遗传优种的国内和国际运输。这是一个具有重大全球意义的问题，特别是对参与这一应用的工业伙伴而言。然而，要实现猪和牛胚胎用于这一用途的潜力，必须进行重大改进。虽然牛（在某种程度上也包括猪）体外受精继续沿着与人类体外受精平行的道路发展，但与人类相比，成功率相对较低。因此，迫切需要从一开始就考虑到动物胚胎而开发的新颖和创新的方法，这些方法最终可能会为人类体外受精的未来发展提供信息。大多数现代人类体外受精单位现在都有设备，既是孵化器，也是监控胚胎发育的摄像机，一些研究表明，它们的使用提高了出生率。虽然我们在猪和牛的这一领域取得了重大进展，但成像是有限的，部分原因是猪和牛的胚胎由于脂肪含量高而难以看到。为了改善这一点，我们最近使用了一种叫做光学相干断层扫描（OCT）的新技术。这提供了胚胎的3D图像，我们可以将分析扩展到4和5个维度，以查看胚胎的“活跃”程度（这被称为微小运动分析- TMA）和胚胎的“弹性”程度（使用OCT进行弹性成像测量）。从本质上讲，我们要问的问题是，那些“更好看”（3D）、更“活泼”（TMA）和更“有弹性”的胚胎是否更有可能存活。这是生物科学和物理科学之间的跨学科合作，补充了我们正在进行的改善猪和牛IVP的工作。该提案建立在IVF诊所对延时成像系统广泛接受的基础上，但将其从2维分析扩展到5维分析。它建立在肯特大学两个截然不同学科的世界领先专业知识的基础上。最近的研究表明，二维监测可以显著改善人类体外受精。我们打算证明5D监测是否可以改善猪和牛的等效过程。

The global population will rise from 7 to 9 billion by 2050 with an increasing pressure on natural resources. Diets are also changing towards more meat and dairy products meaning that there is increasing global demand for food, land, energy, water and other resources, e.g. phosphate fertilisers. The livestock sector is challenged to find new ways of accommodating this need while agriculture is competing for resources as urbanisation and industrialisation put more pressure on land use. It is routine practice for pig and cattle breeding companies to transport animals to countries with underdeveloped breeding programs to enhance the quality of their local breeds. Such procedures however have a high cost financially, environmentally and logistically, and raise ethical concerns, despite evidence-based assurances of the companies involved. These factors have resulted in the in vitro production (IVP) of pig and cattle embryos being of increased interest to producers, given that great financial and environmental benefits could be made. Pigs and cattle account for ~60% of meat and ~85% of milk consumption and speed and efficiency at which genetic improvement can be introduced can be much improved through the use of these embryos. It also allows us to facilitate the national and international transport of genetically superior stock in a high animal-welfare, low-cost and bio-secure manner. This is an issue of great global significance, particularly to the industrial partners involved in this application. Significant improvements are however essential to realise the potential of pig and cattle embryos for this use. While cattle (and to some extent pig) IVP continues along a parallel path to human IVF, success rates are relatively low compared to human. Novel and innovative approaches developed with animal embryos in mind from the outset are thus urgently needed and these may, in turn, ultimately inform future developments in human IVF. Most modern human IVF units now own devices that are both incubator and camera for monitoring embryo development and some studies show that their use improves birth rates. While we have made significant strides in this area for pigs and cattle, the imaging is limited, in part because pig and cattle embryos are harder to see because of their high fat content. To improve this, we have recently made use of a new technique called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). This provides a 3D image of the embryo and we can extend the analysis into 4 and 5 dimensions to look at how "active" the embryos are (this is called tiny movement analysis - TMA) and how "elastic" the embryos are (using OCT for elastography measurements). In essence, we will ask the question whether embryos that are "better looking"(in 3D) more "lively" (TMA) and more "elastic" are more likely to survive. This is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between Biosciences and Physical Sciences and complements the work we have ongoing to improve pig and cattle IVP generally. The proposal builds on the widespread acceptance of time lapse imaging systems in IVF clinics but augments it from 2 to 5 dimensional analysis. It builds on the world leading expertise of two very different disciplines at Kent. Recent research has shown that 2D monitoring can significantly improve human IVF. We intend to demonstrate whether 5D monitoring can improve the equivalent process in pigs and cattle.