The fertility group has launched a newversion of their culture medium Gems, which when combined with their Geriincubator, has seen an increase of 39.1% of high grade embryos availablefor transfer and/or freezing when compared to the traditional incubator andculture medium system.*
Genea Hollywood Fertility’s Medical Director, Dr Simon turnersaid; "the results are testament to our consistent commitment to improvefertility treatment and to maximise the chance couples have of fulfilling theirdream of becoming parents in the least number of cycles possible." He added;"the results are further evidence that there is a difference between thetechnologies offered in IVF labs and subsequently, the chance a patient has ofsuccess. We are getting closer and closer to mimicking the undisturbed naturalenvironment of a woman’s body – where a human embryo would normally be - and Ibelieve our success rates reflect this."
Culture medium, the vital solutionthat supports embryo development outside the body, has traditionally needed tobe replaced at different stages. Firstly, to support fertilisation, then whenthere is division of cells in the early embryo. Finally, it is replaced againwhen used for the blastocyst, the ball of cells developed by day five when theembryo is ready for transfer into the uterus. Additionally, at each point ofdevelopment scientists spend time reviewing the embryos out of the incubator,exposing them to unfavourable elements.
However, the fertility group has nowdeveloped a continuous culture Geri medium, a universal liquid that issuitable for every stage of embryo development, eliminating the need to changethe solution and enable undisturbed embryo growth. It’s the next iteration ofthe Gems sequential media and is specificallydeveloped for their new Geri timelapse incubator. "Whilst we will sell the system globally, the new generationembryo culture media coupled with Geriwill be exclusive in Australia to Genea and Genea Hollywood Fertility patientsat no extra cost," Genea Group’s Scientific Director Steve McArthur said.
Traditionally, IVF clinics have usedincubators that have more than one patients’ embryos in a single chamber withno time lapse camera, meaning the incubator had to be opened every time onepatient’s embryo needed checking and/or when the medium needed to be changed.
Geri, the new benchtop incubator with individually controlledincubation chambers per patient and time lapse camera, gives scientists’continuous monitoring of embryos which eliminates the need to open theincubator to check on embryo development. "Other time lapse incubators on the market, have multiple patients inthe one space, meaning even if they had a single step media, embryos would stillneed to be disturbed when scientists check other patients’ embryos," MrMcArthur said.
Initial data from Genea HollywoodFertility’s exclusive new lab culture system is showing encouraging resultsthanks to the significant drop in the need for embryo disturbance. "It’s fairto say that if a patient has more viable embryos for transfer or freeze, it’slikely we will make more babies per egg collection – and it’s the eggcollection, with the injections, day surgery procedure and cost - that is thegreatest impost to the woman. In contrast, the subsequent use of frozen embryosis less intrusive, often drug free and not so expensive," Dr Turner said. Headded, "Therefore, leading technology presents a significant cost and emotionalbenefit to patients and a saving for the government."
These figures have undergone apeer review process and were presented at the Fertility Society of AustraliaConference in Adelaide in October 2017.
Patients seeking help with fertilityare encouraged to speak with Genea Hollywood’s Fertility Advisor,confidentially and obligation free, about how Geri and Geri Medium canmaximise their potential for having a baby.
* Study performed at Genea HollywoodFertility’s Perth laboratory
In 2000, Dr Simon Turner established Hollywood Fertility Centre(HFC) to cater for the needs of people requiring fertility and assistedreproduction assistance in Western Australia. 10 years ago, HFC partnered with internationalfertility group Genea giving patients access to world leading fertilitytechnologies. In January 2018 HFC changed their name to Genea HollywoodFertility to reflect their partnership with Genea.
Genea is one of Australia’s leading providersof infertility, IVF and other assisted conception treatment with 31 years ofexperience in the field. The company has long been a fertility pioneer, withresearch and technologies developed in-house virtually doubling IVF successrates in the mid-nineties and continuing to improve outcomes today. InSeptember 2017, Genea was listed in the Australian Financial Review’s Top 50Most Innovative Companies List, ranking number 25.
Genea’s sister company, Genea Biomedx createsand manufactures practical, accessible and precise fertility technologies thathelp standardise and automate fertility treatment. Its unique relationship withGenea Fertility means that Genea Biomedx is a manufacturer that trulyunderstands the customers’ perspective. As a result, Genea Biomedx hasdeveloped the world’s first automated vitrification instrument and has createda world leading benchtop incubator with timelapse functionality.
· Gavi– the world’s first automated vitrification instrument; Vitrification is aprocess used in IVF to preserve human egg cells (oocytes) or embryos by coolingthem to deep sub-zero degrees. Approaching the process in an innovative way,Gavi uses an automated, standardized protocol aiming to provide consistentresults in blastocyst vitrification.
· Geri- a benchtop incubator with individually controlled incubation chambers perpatient to minimize disruptive events to the early-stage embryo. It alsoincorporates a camera for continuous monitoring of embryos as they develop.
· Gems- the latest generation of Genea’s culture media for embryo cultivation.
Gidget - an innovative witnessing and tracking system that provideselectronic witnessing, lab workflow management and support for traceability andaudit reporting.
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