Research Instruments has developed a system that automatically tracks a patient's eggs, sperm and resulting embryos during an infertility treatment cycle, to reduce the risk of mislabelling or error.
Using non-invasive radio frequency identification (RFID), IVF Witness can track a patient's sperm, eggs and embryos during the course of treatment.
If the wrong material is introduced in the lab environment, IVF Witness alerts the staff, via visual and audible signals, to help prevent mislabelling of any materials.
While laboratory errors are rare, by creating an automated system to minimise the chance for mix up, IVF Witness safeguards the infertility treatment process.
The software uses RFID tags, each containing a microchip that acts as a unique digital fingerprint, safely identifying samples at the outset and tracking them through the fertilisation process.
Each patient is given an RFID identity card, with a unique identification, that are used with all sample materials for that patient, including Petri dishes and test tubes used in a patient's treatment cycle.
The entire system is electronically managed.
'Infertility treatment is a very precise and personal process and IVF Witness helps to maintain the integrity and security of this process for both healthcare providers and patients,' said Bill Brown, president of Research Instruments.
John Robinson, scientific director of Hull IVF Unit in the UK, said: 'IVF Witness does not require two members of staff to operate.
'It allows embryologists to work safely and effectively, without frequent interruptions to witness with other colleagues.
'In effect, it is providing a continual and very robust safety check, independent and additional to the many checks embryologists have to carry out,' he added.
According to Brown, interest has also been considerable in countries such as China, Japan and the Middle East, where IVF Witness has recently been launched.
