PolScope
PolScope technology combines innovations in polarisation optics (special lighting and lenses) with novel image-processing software and is used as an add-on technique for the ICSI procedure. When performing ICSI the embryologist holds the egg in place with a thin pipette (similar to a tiny, glass straw). The egg is aligned with the polar body at 12 o’clock. The polar body is the left-over chromosomes (bundles of genes) that have been released from the egg. The polar body is placed at 12 o’clock so that damage to the spindle (the site of the egg's genes) is minimised. It is done like this as traditional information has suggested that the spindle lies immediately below the polar body. An injection needle is used to pierce the zona pellucida (egg shell) and inject the sperm (figure 1). The embryologist then carefully withdraws the needle, leaving the sperm inside the egg. In less than a minute, the zona closes naturally and the egg retains its normal shape. Whilst ICSI provides substantial benefit, there are some risks associated with it. The egg can be damaged during the process and the zona can be difficult to pierce.
So what is the advantage to using PolScope technology? Use of the polscope has shown that the spindle does not necessarily lie near the polar body. In up to 2/3 of cases, the spindle is not related to the polar body and therefore that spindle may be damaged by the injection needle during the ICSI process. Disruption of the spindle may affect fertilisation and how the embryo divides. Use of the polscope allows Next Generation Fertility embryologists to align the spindle to 12 o’clock, prior to injection of the sperm, avoiding damage to the egg's genes. It also allows them to identify eggs without spindles, increasing the information available to the patient and their doctor regarding the quality of the eggs produced.
