Embryo Culture Dish Layout for Noninvasive Chromosome Sampling

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current embryo culture devices face challenges in efficiently sampling culture solution for chromosome analysis without disrupting the culture environment, leading to increased distances between wells, reduced imaging capacity, and higher transfer errors.

Innovation Solution

An embryo culture dish with adjacent wells featuring recess parts and movement block parts to maintain solution circulation while preventing embryo movement, allowing for efficient sampling and imaging without disturbing the culture environment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If the volume of a well that contains an embryo is increased to allow sufficient culture solution for testing, then a necessary amount of culture solution can be sampled for chromosome analysis, but the distance between adjacent wells increases, reducing the number of wells that can be imaged at once and complicating the photographing device structure

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevolume of culture solutionVSAvoidstructure of photographing device
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The well is segmented into two functional zones: a culture area for the embryo and a collection area for the culture solution. This segmentation allows the well to accommodate both the embryo and sufficient culture solution volume for testing without increasing the overall well diameter, thereby maintaining compatibility with existing photographing devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The collection area is formed as a recess below the culture area, utilizing the vertical dimension rather than increasing the horizontal diameter. This dimensional transition allows sufficient culture solution volume to be contained within the same footprint, maintaining well density for imaging while enabling adequate sampling volume.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Quantity of substance

If the volume of a well that contains an embryo is increased to allow sufficient culture solution for testing, then a necessary amount of culture solution can be sampled for chromosome analysis, but the distance between adjacent wells increases, increasing the distance for transferring embryos and the probability of mistakes

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevolume of culture solutionVSAvoidprobability of transfer mistakes
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The well is segmented into two functional zones: a culture area for the embryo and a collection area for the culture solution. This segmentation allows the well to accommodate both the embryo and sufficient culture solution volume for testing without increasing the overall well diameter, thereby maintaining compatibility with existing photographing devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The collection area is formed as a recess below the culture area, utilizing the vertical dimension rather than increasing the horizontal diameter. This dimensional transition allows sufficient culture solution volume to be contained within the same footprint, maintaining well density for imaging while enabling adequate sampling volume.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Quantity of substance

If a necessary amount of culture solution is sampled from microwells with small diameter, then chromosome analysis can be performed, but the embryo culture environment greatly changes

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevolume of culture solution for testingVSAvoidembryo culture environment
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The collection area is designed as a separate recess that can be selectively accessed for sampling. This allows the culture solution in the collection area to be removed for testing without disturbing the embryo in the culture area, thereby maintaining the stability of the embryo culture environment while obtaining sufficient sample volume.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The well is segmented into two functional zones: a culture area for the embryo and a collection area for the culture solution. This segmentation allows the well to accommodate both the embryo and sufficient culture solution volume for testing without increasing the overall well diameter, thereby maintaining compatibility with existing photographing devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4671355A1Dish for embryo culture and method for collecting embryo culture solution for chromosome analysis by using said dish
Publication Date: 2025.12.31 ASADA LADIES CLINIC
  • EP4671355A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4671355A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4671355A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

In an embryo culture dish that includes a plurality of wells that each contain an embryo together with a culture solution, the plurality of wells are disposed independently and adjacently at a bottom part of the embryo culture dish, a recess part that can retain the culture solution together with the well is formed per well at the bottom part independently from another recess part, a movement block part that permits circulation of the culture solution and blocks movement of the embryo is provided between the well and the recess part, and a volume of the recess part is equal to or more than a volume of a culture solution to be sucked up for testing for aneuploidy of a chromosome of the embryo cultured in the well. By so doing, it is possible to suck up the culture solution for testing for aneuploidy of chromosomes of an embryo to be cultured, and dispose the wells close to each other that contain a plurality of embryos.