A device for selecting sperm includes a stack of a plurality of layers of a material. The stack has an inlet end and an outlet end. Each layer of the material includes a plurality of sperm selection microchannels. Each sperm selection microchannel has a respective microchannel inlet at the inlet end of the stack and extends to a respective microchannel outlet at the outlet end of the stack.

A system and method for sorting sperm is provided. The system includes a housing and a microfluidic system supported by the housing. The system also includes an inlet providing access to the microfluidic system to deliver sperm to the microfluidic system and an outlet providing access to the microfluidic system to harvest sorted sperm from the microfluidic system. The microfluidic system provides a flow path for sperm from the inlet to the outlet and includes at least one channel extending from the inlet to the outlet to allow sperm delivered to the microfluidic system through the inlet to progress along the flow path toward the outlet. The microfluidic system also includes a filter including a first plurality of micropores arranged in the flow path between the inlet and the outlet to cause sperm traveling along the flow path to move against through the filter and gravity to reach the outlet.

A system and method for sorting sperm is provided. The system includes a housing and a microfluidic system supported by the housing. The system also includes an inlet providing access to the microfluidic system to deliver sperm to the microfluidic system and an outlet providing access to the microfluidic system to harvest sorted sperm from the microfluidic system. The microfluidic system provides a flow path for sperm from the inlet to the outlet and includes at least one channel extending from the inlet to the outlet to allow sperm delivered to the microfluidic system through the inlet to progress along the flow path toward the outlet. The microfluidic system also includes a filter including a first plurality of micropores arranged in the flow path between the inlet and the outlet to cause sperm traveling along the flow path to move against through the filter and gravity to reach the outlet.

A frozen egg culturing device includes: a housing portion configured to house a frozen egg contained in a container; a liquid injecting portion; a liquid discharging portion; and an egg outflow preventing portion between the frozen egg contained in the container, and the liquid injecting portion and the liquid discharging portion. A frozen egg culturing method uses the frozen egg culturing device.

The present invention relates to a device (100) for monitoring the development of a biological material, said device in the orientation intended for use comprising: a housing (2) having an extension in a longitudinal direction (X) and an extension in a transversal direction (Y), said housing comprises: two or more culture dish compartments (4), each adapted to accommodate a culture dish (6) comprising a biological material (8) to be monitored, each said compartment being separated from each of said other compartments, said two or more compartments being arranged along the longitudinal direction; each said culture dish compartment (4) comprising a lid (10) adapted to be able to be shifted between an open configuration in which access to the interior (12) of said culture dish compartment is provided, and a closed configuration sealing off the interior of said culture dish compartment from its surroundings; wherein each said culture dish compartment comprises an inlet (14) for supplying gas to and an outlet (16) for removing gas from said culture dish compartment; wherein each said culture dish compartment comprising heating means (18) for heating the interior of said culture dish compartment; wherein said housing comprises one or more cameras (20) for capturing images of a biological material in a culture dish.

A cell culture microdevice for maintaining and culturing a cell therein comprising a cell culture unit having at least a first cell carrier unit defining a cell culture chamber formed therein, the first cell carrier unit formed from at least, a chamber base shaped to support the cell thereon, and one or more chamber walls having one or more chamber wall surfaces enclosing the cell culture chamber about a chamber boundary, the first cell carrier unit further providing a guiding surface to guide instruments or fluids into the cell culture chamber located at an aperture through a chamber wall, wherein the cell culture microdevice is configured at a scale to substantially enclose a single cell or cell mass therein. Embodiments of the cell culture microdevice may be suitable for in vitro fertilisation procedures and drug efficacy testing.

A stage device capable of performing piercing vibration and translational driving by using one actuator, and performing very low-speed driving in the translational driving with high accuracy. The stage device includes an X stage having a vibration actuator that includes an vibration element and a contact body, one of which is a movable body connected to an object to be driven, and drives the object to be driven in an X-axis direction, and a control section that controls driving of the vibration actuator. The control section causes two-phase AC voltages to be applied to an electromechanical energy conversion element to thereby excite predetermined vibrations in the vibration element, to drive the vibration actuator by switching between a movement mode for moving the object to be driven in the X-axis direction and a vibration mode for vibrating the object to be driven in the X-axis direction.

An apparatus includes: an accommodation unit capable of accommodating a cell and liquid; and a rotation unit that produces a flow in the liquid in the accommodation unit to rotate the cell. The apparatus further includes a rotation controller unit that detects a rotation amount input from an input device, and controls the flow of the liquid produced by each of the output ports on a basis of the input rotation amount to control a rotation amount of the cell.

A system and method for sorting sperm is provided. The system includes a housing and a microfluidic system supported by the housing. The system also includes an inlet providing access to the microfluidic system to deliver sperm to the microfluidic system and an outlet providing access to the microfluidic system to harvest sorted sperm from the microfluidic system. The microfluidic system provides a flow path for sperm from the inlet to the outlet and includes at least one channel extending from the inlet to the outlet to allow sperm delivered to the microfluidic system through the inlet to progress along the flow path toward the outlet. The microfluidic system also includes a filter including a first plurality of micropores arranged in the flow path between the inlet and the outlet to cause sperm traveling along the flow path to move against through the filter and gravity to reach the outlet.

Apparatus and methods for monitoring embryos in an incubator are described. The apparatus comprises an incubation chamber defined by an incubation chamber housing and a sample platform comprising a plurality of receptacles for holding embryos within the incubation chamber for incubation. The sample platform may comprise a slide carrier on which embryo slides containing the receptacles may be placed incubation. The sample platform is rotatable about a rotation axis relative to the incubation chamber housing so as to allow receptacles to be selectively rotated to a monitoring position that is aligned with a viewing port provided in the incubation chamber housing, for example an opening or window. An imaging device is located outside the incubation chamber and arranged to image embryos within the incubation chamber at the monitoring position through the viewing port.