Memphasys weighs into multi-million dollar equine industry
Memphasys has successfully collected data from approximately 240 horse inseminations to test its novel “SAMSON” stallion fertility diagnostic device that may cut sperm quality diagnosis times down to a rapid 15 minutes. SAMSON measures the quality of semen and predicts the likelihood of the semen achieving a pregnancy. The company says there are no other such devices on the market and horse owners must wait 14 days for an ultrasound to check if an insemination was successful
The field trial data collection was undertaken in New South Wales by University of Newcastle researchers. Data from the approximately 240 mare inseminations was collected from two NSW based equine studs during the horse breeding season in October and November 2021.
Data collected on the receiving mare in addition to the pregnancy outcomes from tested sperm samples is now being collated.
The SAMSON device measures the quality of the semen and uses statistical analysis to predict the likelihood that pregnancy will be achieved in the inseminated mare.
Importantly, the device is transportable enough to be used directly in the breeding shed within 15 minutes of stallion ejaculation and provides sperm quality and impregnation likelihood results shortly thereafter.
University of Newcastle researchers will study the data collected from the semen samples, individual mare and stallion breeding statistics and pregnancy outcomes to determine the accuracy of SAMSON in predicting mare pregnancy.
If researchers find a positive predictive correlation from the SAMSON device, a prediction algorithm for specific stallion and mare pairing will be developed. Following a positive correlation result, Memphasys says it will build a final commercial device for use in the next breeding season.
Sperm used for horse breeding is often sent in frozen or chilled “straws” to buyers around the world before being thawed out and used for artificial insemination. After adding a 14 day waiting period for preliminary ultrasound results to the sperm travel time, sperm buyers end up enduring a lengthy waiting period before potentially discovering the pregnancy was unsuccessful.
There is a plethora of money floating around in the horse breeding space and with the likes of three-time Melbourne Cup winning Makybe Diva’s first foal being sold for a whopping AU$1.5 million and her second foal being sold at auction for a serious AU$1.2 million, the figures speak for themselves. Memphasys move to muscle into the lucrative horse breeding industry with its novel technology is intriguing. Anything that can add certainty to the breeding process is valuable and Memphasys management will no doubt be popular at members bars around the country if it can make this happen.
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