Blood Cell Storage (BCSI), a US-based medical device company, has entered into partnership with Origio to advance closed incubator pH monitoring processes that is used for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Through this collaboration, the firms will bring new solutions for pH measurement in order to address the exisiting issues in monitoring for IVF. They will focus on the first product, SAFE Sens IVM, a system that records pH measurements without disturbing the culture conditions within a closed incubator.

Origio CEO Jesper Funding Andersen said that the embryologists want to monitor pH within media to minimize pH drift and improve their success rates.

"SAFE Sens is easy-to-use, lasts the entire cycle and provides validation to ensure that the system is working properly," Andersen added.

An optical fluorescent measurement device, SAFE Sens IVM is used in combination with a disposable sensor in order to accurately measure the pH of small volumes of fluids such as the media used in IVF.

The sensor contains a fluorescent dye that is pH sensitive, and every sterile sensors set lasts for six days and are pre-calibrated by the manufacturer. An ID code tells the SAFE Sens IVM on how to interpret the fluorescent measurement for each lot of sensors into a pH value.

BCSI CEO Russ Aldrich said, "SAFE Sens has been adapted from our proven blood storage technology for use specifically in CO2 incubators."