ECLIPSE Ti2-U IVF

Improvement of ICSI Accuracy by Spindle Visualization

September 2023

A spindle is a very important structure that is formed to distribute chromosomes to daughter cells during cell division. It is usually located on the inside of the immediate vicinity of the polar body but may also be far from the polar body. Therefore, it is possible that the spindle may be damaged in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which is performed without observation of the spindle, and the fertilized egg may not grow normally. There are also reports of the fertilization rate changing depending on the position of the spindle^[1]. Furthermore, it is considered that the presence/absence, position and morphology of the spindle are indicators of oocyte maturation^[2]. Therefore, it is very important to visualize the spindle, but it is difficult to observe with a normal microscope.

This application note introduces a spindle observation system that enables spindle identification. By attaching this system to an inverted microscope, ICSI can be performed at the right time while preventing damage to the spindle.