Unisense Fertilitech A/s

Jorgen Berntsen

Niels B Ramsing

Jens K Gundersen

Jonas Lerche Hansen

Holger Soe Plougsgaard

Kim Bondergaard Madsen

Troels Kofoed Mejer

Reidun Berghold Kuhlmann

Anton Paarup Kylling

Soren Porsgaard

Tine Qvistgaard Kajhoj

Apparatus and methods for monitoring embryos in an incubator are described. The apparatus comprises an incubation chamber defined by an incubation chamber housing and a sample platform comprising a plurality of receptacles for holding embryos within the incubation chamber for incubation. The sample platform may comprise a slide carrier on which embryo slides containing the receptacles may be placed incubation. The sample platform is rotatable about a rotation axis relative to the incubation chamber housing so as to allow receptacles to be selectively rotated to a monitoring position that is aligned with a viewing port provided in the incubation chamber housing, for example an opening or window. An imaging device is located outside the incubation chamber and arranged to image embryos within the incubation chamber at the monitoring position through the viewing port.

Incubator apparatus and methods

Apparatus and methods for monitoring embryos in an incubator are described. The apparatus comprises an incubation chamber defined by an incubation chamber housing and a slide carrier comprising a plurality of compartment walls that define compartments for holding embryo slides within the incubation chamber for incubation. The slide carrier is moveable, for example by rotation, relative to the incubation chamber housing to allow a selected compartment to be moved to a loading position defined at least in part by a loading port wall associated with the incubation chamber housing. The loading port wall is arranged to cooperate with the wall of a compartment in the loading position to restrict the extent to which the environment of the compartment in the loading position is in fluid communication with the environments of other compartments in the incubation chamber.

Apparatus and methods for helping a user establish values (e.g. timings) for a plurality of parameters of interest (e.g. cell divisions) relating to the development of an embryo from a series of images of the embryo are described. For each parameter of interest an image is selected for display to a user seeking to establish a value for the parameter of interest. For example, the selected image may be an image predicted to be an image reflecting the value for the parameter of interest. For example, the selected image may be based on a calculated timing for a particular developmental event. The timing may be calculated from a numerical analysis of the images or maybe predetermined. If the user is unable to determine a value for the parameter of interest from the selected image, the user may scroll through neighboring images until the user can determine a value for the parameter of interest. A value for the proud of interest may then be established in response to user input, for example a user providing an indication that a timing associated with a currently displayed image from the series of images should be taken to be the value of the parameter of interest. The different parameters of interest may be established in an iterative manner in which an initial image for display to a user is selected for each parameter of interest based on the parameter of interest.

Methods and apparatus for analysing embryo development

The present invention relates to a device, a system and a method for performing monitoring and/or cultivation of microscopic objects. Microscopic objects are in particular microscopic organisms like bacteria and cell cultures, such as cultivation objects like tissue samples and embryos, providing optimal and safe cultivation conditions for incubation during embryo development and for facilitating the selection of optimal embryos to be used in vitro fertilization (IVF) by facilitating embryo handling for automated digital imaging and time-lapse microscopy.

Device, a system and a method for monitoring and/or culturing of microscopic objects

The present invention relates to a device, a system and a method for performing monitoring and/or cultivation of microscopic objects. Microscopic objects are in particular microscopic organisms like bacteria and cell cultures, such as cultivation objects like tissue samples and embryos, providing optimal and safe cultivation conditions for incubation during embryo development and for facilitating the selection of optimal embryos to be used in in vitro fertilization (IVF) by facilitating embryo handling for automated digital imaging and time-lapse microscopy.

Device, a system and a method for monitoring and/or cultivation of microscopic objects

The present invention relates to a method and a system for determination of a change in a cell population, as well as a method for using said method and system for estimating a quality measure of embryos and for selecting embryos for in vitro fertilization, said method comprising the steps of sequentially acquiring at least two images of the cell population, comparing at least a part of the at least two images obtaining at least one difference image, computing a parameter from the at least one difference image, based on said computed parameter determining whether a change has occurred.

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Viborg, Denmark

Jorgen Berntsen