Patent ID: 7833147

Claim:
A process for selectively decreasing the capacity of a subpopulation of sperm cells in a sperm cell dispersion to fertilize an egg, the process comprising: forming a dispersion of labeled sperm cells in a liquid, the liquid comprising a chemical agent that induces sperm immotility, wherein the presence, absence or amount of the label associated with a sperm cell indicates a genetic, proteomic, structural, or functional characteristic of a subpopulation of sperm cells in the dispersion, adjusting the density of the spermatozoa in the dispersion based upon variations among different species of mammals, variations among the mammals of a single species, or variations among different ejaculates of a single mammal; optically inspecting the dispersion to identify individual sperm cells as members of the subpopulation; determining the position of members of the subpopulation in the dispersion; delivering a dose of energy to different positions within the dispersion to selectively decrease the capacity of members of the subpopulation to fertilize an egg without similarly affecting sperm cells at other positions in the dispersion, and returing the non-dosed subpopulation of sperm to an active state.