Embryo-culturing apparatus and method
US6448069B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 9, 2000 |
| Grant date | Sep 10, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 19, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC12M21/06
- WIPO fieldBiotechnology
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
An embryo culturing method and apparatus enables a plurality of embryos to be grown in communal clusters in a culturing container. The embryos are kept separate from each other in open interconnected compartments that are disposed in the culture container. Each compartment is contained in a structure having a plurality of interconnected compartments, and each compartment is sized to contain a single embryo. The culturing container will contain a plurality of the compartmentalized structures. The method and apparatus of this invention includes a culturing container, such as a Petrie dish, in which the embryos are grown. The Petrie dish preferably contains a plurality of the embryo-culturing compartmentalized structures which can be positioned in the Petrie dish in a predetermined pattern. For example, the compartmentalized structuress can be positioned in the Petrie dish at the 12 O'Clock, 2 O'Clock, 4 O'Clock, 8 O'Clock and 10 O'clock positions, or in any other planned deployment. The individual structures can be individually identified by letters, for example, such as A, B, C, D, etc. Each compartmentalized structure can contain a plurlaity, for example four, compartments which ar…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.