Geri^_®: An innovative incubator with integrated embryo monitoring system

The incubator for an embryo is absolutely critical and essential for its survival while being cultured outside of the uterus. Geri^_® is a compact modular benchtop incubator that incorporates time-lapse imaging to capture critical developmental stages of embryo development. Designed to offer an individualised and undisturbed incubation, Geri^_® provides stable culture conditions in an optimal environment.

Focusing on what matters; the embryo

• Six individual incubators/chambers, designed to have a single patient in each chamber, with each independently controlled for the storage and preservation of embryos at or near body temperature¹.

• Each chamber has its own dedicated camera, capturing up to 11 focal planes and a best focal plane, embryo-cropped image every 5 minutes in 2560 x 1928 pixels. This unique feature eliminates the need to move embryos around the incubator, while at the same time minimising any movement of the camera¹.

• It is easy to see at a quick glance which chambers contain embryos, either by looking at the individual LCD screen for each chamber, or the homescreen of Geri^_® showing an overview across all incubator chambers.

• Each chamber is able to be swapped in and out, independent of the other chambers, thus minimising down-time and the need to send Geri^_® away for repair.

Creating optimal culture conditions

• Geri^_® has a gas purge function to flood the chamber and accelerate the process of restoring optimum gas levels, to re-establish the optimal environment in the chamber as quickly as possible with a recovery time of 3 minutes¹.

• Each chamber has its own CO₂ sensor, monitoring the concentration of CO₂ rather than flow of gas. This assures that your mixed gas has the correct CO₂ level¹.

• Each chamber can be humidified with the addition of the Geri^_® Water Bottle, thus reducing evaporation of culture media and minimising changes in osmolality levels that may impact embryo development, even at day 5 or 6 of culture³.

• We have incorporated redundancies into the chamber so even if one of two heating element pairs fails, the temperature is maintained by the other heating element pair. This maintains the temperature of the chamber and reduces the impact on temperature variations for the embryo¹.

• The Geri Dish^_® has 16 micro-wells for individual embryo tracking providing Geri^_® with a capacity to hold 96 embryos.

Real-time monitoring of embryo growth

Geri^_® enables you to monitor each chamber’s environment and control incubation conditions in real time to ensure the ideal condition for embryo growth is achieved. Here are a few key factors that can be monitored in real time:

• Temperature: Geri^_® maintains a precise temperature in each chamber, within +/- 0.2 ºC of a user-specified set point¹.
• Gas flow: A regulator maintains a consistent gas flow¹.
• Independent in-built sensors: Temperature and gas sensors detect abnormal environment conditions¹.
• CO₂: Temperature and CO₂ conditions in each chamber can be monitored with an external probe² for reassurance¹.
• Light: Long wavelength light source in cameras to reduce light-induced damage to early stage of embryo development¹.
• Humidity: Providing both the ability for each individual chamber to be humidified or not, humidification inside the chamber is tracked by independent sensors¹.

Incorporating the latest time-lapse technology

The Geri^_® software is built on a modular approach. Embryos can be viewed on the Geri^_® instrument itself, or the images can be transferred to the Geri Connect^_® server to be stored and then played back through the Geri Connect & Geri Assess Software. You can even share these images with patients to make their journey a more personalised experience than ever before.

Geri^_® in the lab

At Genea, the Geri^_® incubator has enabled our embryologists to watch and monitor the development of each embryo that is being cultured in each chamber, which provides embryologists and doctors with more information about embryo development.

Did you know?

• More than 47,000 fertilised oocytes have been cultured in Geri incubators⁴
• More than 23,000 embryos cultured in Geri incubators have been utilised⁴
• More than 1,600 ongoing pregnancies have been achieved from embryos cultured in Geri incubators⁴
• More than 800 babies to date in Geri incubators⁴

Note: These numbers obtained from Genea fertility and IVF Clinics in Australia since implementing Geri® in full clinical use.

Testimonials from our embryologists at Genea

• “Geri^_® is very user friendly, provide good quality videos and allow consistency within our lab.” Brooke, Senior Embryologist, Genea Kent St.

• “The ability to have a live view of the embryos as they develop has allowed us to manage patient expectations better as well as pick up any abnormalities earlier.” Samantha, Senior Scientist, Genea Wollongong

• “It makes it easier for the patient to understand what I’m saying. It also provides us with the ability to have in-depth communication with doctors, particularly when the patient has multiple embryos on day 5 and to explain how we’ve differentiated between them.” Diana, Fertilities Lab Manager, Genea Kent St.