Classification of Bovine Cumulus-Oocyte Complexes with Convolutional Neural Networks

Aim: Determining oocyte quality is crucial for successful fertilization and embryonic development, and there is a serious correlation between live birth rates and oocyte quality. Parameters such as the regular/irregular formation of the cumulus cell layer around the oocyte, the number of cumulus cell layers and the homogeneity of the appearance of the ooplasm are used to determine the quality of the oocytes to be used in in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) methods. Material and Methods: In this study, classification processes have been carried out using convolutional neural networks (CNN), a deep learning method, on the images of the cumulus-oocyte complex selected based on the theoretical knowledge and professional experience of embryologists. A convolutional neural network with a depth of 4 is used. In each depth level, one convolution, one ReLU and one max-pooling layer are included. The designed network architecture is trained using the Adam optimization algorithm. The cumulus-oocyte complexes (n=400) used in the study were obtained by using the oocyte aspiration method from the ovaries of the bovine slaughtered at the slaughterhouse. Results: The CNN-based classification model developed in this study showed promising results in classifying three-class image data in terms of cumulus-oocyte complex classification. The classification model achieved high accuracy, precision, and sensitivity values on the test dataset. Conclusion: Continuous research and optimization of the model can further improve its performance and benefit the field of cumulus-oocyte complexes classification and oocyte quality assessment.