Research Article

Comparison of the Development of Sibling Oocytes Cultured in Either A TimeLapse Geri (Genea) Incubator or A Benchtop Conventional Incubator

Authors: Rovshan Jabbarov, Kemal Ozgur, Kevin Coetzee.

DOI: 10.33425/2639-9342.1288

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Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate whether time-lapse (Geri) incubators provide superior outcomes compared to conventional benchtop incubators in terms of embryo development and blastocyst quality.

Methods: This study included 3079 mature sibling oocytes randomly allocated between two incubators after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): a time-lapse (Geri) incubator and a benchtop incubator. Embryo development, fertilization, cleavage rates, blastocyst formation, and euploid rates were analyzed.

Results: No significant differences were observed in fertilization (64.0% vs. 58.4%) or cleavage rates (44.4% vs. 41.3%, P > 0.05). However, the Geri incubator yielded significantly higher blastocyst formation (54.0% vs. 50.0%, P < 0.001), usable blastocyst rates (56.8% vs. 49.0%, P = 0.036), and euploid rates (53.5% vs. 36.4%, P = 0.001).

Conclusions: Time-lapse incubators provide a stable culture environment that enhances blastocyst quality and developmental outcomes, supporting their adoption for improving in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates.

The aim of this study whether a limited exposure of embryos outside the incubator affects fertilization, embryo development, and blastocyst quality. This study was performed at ART Fertility Clinics, Antalya, Türkiye, between June 2023 and January 2024 and included 3079 mature sibling oocytes that were split randomly between two incubators after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): a Time Lapse (Geri) incubator and a benchtop incubator, G185 K-SYSTEMS (KS). The fertilization, cleavage, embryo/blastocyst qualities, and useable blastocyst were assessed to evaluate the incubator performance. In total, 1372 (44.57%) mature oocytes were cultured in the Time Lapse (Geri) and 1707 (55.44%) in the K-SYSTEMS. No differences were observed in fertilization rate (64.0% vs 58.4%, P = 0.932), cleavage rate (44.4% vs 41.3%, P = 0.676), and embryo quality on Day 3 (P = 0.453) between both incubators, respectively. Embryos cultured in the Time Lapse (Geri) had a significantly higher chance of blastulation (54.0% vs 50.0%, P < 0.001). Moreover, a significantly higher usable blastocyst rate was observed on Day 5 in the Time Lapse (Geri) (56.8% vs 49.0%, P = 0.036), with a highly significant increased euploid rate (53.5% vs 36.4%, P = 0.001) and improved blastocyst quality (P = 0.007). We found that exposure of embryos outside the incubator may negatively affect the in vitro blastocyst development and euploid rate on Day 5.

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