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Comparative Study
. 2007 Jan;24(1):5-9.
doi: 10.1007/s10815-006-9088-3. Epub 2006 Dec 13.

Effect of micro-environment maintenance on embryo culture after in-vitro fertilization: comparison of top-load mini incubator and conventional front-load incubator

Mutsuko Fujiwara  1 , Kentaro Takahashi, Mika Izuno, Ya Ru Duan, Maya Kazono, Fuminori Kimura, Yoichi Noda
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Effect of micro-environment maintenance on embryo culture after in-vitro fertilization: comparison of top-load mini incubator and conventional front-load incubator

Mutsuko Fujiwara et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2007 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect of microenvironment maintenance on embryo culture and clinical results using two types of incubators.

Methods: Temperature and oxygen concentration in a mini-incubator and a conventional incubator were compared following a 5-s door opening/closing procedure. Embryos of 30 in-vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET) cases were randomly allocated to either one of the incubator, cultured, and the early-stage good embryo formation rate and the good blastocyst formation rate were compared, as indicators for micro-environment maintenance ability.

Results: Temperature recovery after a 5-s door opening/closing procedure was approximately 5 min for the mini-incubator and 30 min for the conventional incubator. The oxygen concentration return was significantly improved in the mini-incubator (3.0 +/- 0 min) compared with the conventional incubator (7.8 +/- 0.9 min). Both the early-stage good embryo formation rate and the good blastocyst formation rate were significantly higher in the mini-incubator (39.5% and 15.1%) than the conventional incubator (28.4% and 7.8%).

Conclusion: The microenvironment maintenance ability of incubators appears to significantly influence the formation of good embryos.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Photograph of top-load mini-incubator and front-load conventional incubator: (A) top-load mini-incubator; (B) front-load conventional incubator
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Embryo and blastcyst of good condition: (A) Early-stage embryo, 4 cells, G3; (B) Early-stage embryo, 8 cells, G3; (C) Blastocyst, 3AB
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Temperature changes of top-load mini-incubator (after opening the door for 5 s)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Temperature changes of conventional front-load incubator (after opening the door for 5 s)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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