Visualising Fertility: Imaging Reproductive Function to Improve Animal Breeding and deliver Immersive Education

A series of experiments were undertaken using advanced imaging technologies and quantitative analysis to investigate sperm transport, semen function and fetal development in sheep and horses, based on the principle that reproductive function can be better understood, taught and improved when the underlying biological processes are made visible.

Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy was used to compare sperm transport in the ewe and mare by tracking fluorescently labelled spermatozoa and inert fluorescent microbeads within the female reproductive tract. This demonstrated clear species-specific differences: in the ewe, sperm motility was essential for progression through a highly contractile and selective uterus, whereas in the mare, uterine contractions were the predominant driver of sperm transport. In ram semen, mass motility was investigated as an emergent property of dense sperm populations. Experimental manipulation of sperm concentration and percentage motility showed that high mass motility requires both sufficient sperm density and a high proportion of motile spermatozoa. A complementary image-analysis method was developed to objectively quantify mass motility from routine phase-contrast videos, providing a practical alternative to subjective operator scoring. Longitudinal ultrasound and MRI of pregnant ewes were also used to initiate a multimodal atlas of fetal development across gestation, providing the foundation for improved pregnancy diagnostics and future immersive training tools in reproductive education.