Seattle-based, Blood Cell Storage, Inc. (BCSI), a leading medical device provider and Origio, a leader in delivering innovative assisted reproductive technology (ART) solutions have collaborated on bringing new solutions for pH measurement to market to address current issues in monitoring for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

The first product they will focus on is SAFE Sens IVM, a pH monitoring system used by clinical and research staff, that reports, trends and archives pH measurements without disturbing culture conditions within a closed incubator.

This partnership was announced during the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

“Embryologists want to monitor pH within media to minimize pH drift and improve their success rates,” said Jesper Funding Andersen, CEO, Origio.  “SAFE Sens is easy-to-use, lasts the entire cycle and provides validation to ensure that the system is working properly.”

The SAFE Sens (Sterile, Automated Fluoroscopic Evaluation) IVM (In Vessel Monitor) is an optical fluorescent measurement device. It is used in combination with a disposable sensor, to accurately and reliably measuring the pH of small volumes of fluids such as the media used in IVF. The sensor contains a proprietary fluorescent dye that is pH sensitive. Each lot of sterile sensors last six days and are pre-calibrated by the manufacturer. An ID code is used to tell the SAFE Sens IVM how to specifically interpret the fluorescent measurement for each lot of sensors into a pH value.

Since it is important to make sure that over time the SAFE Sens IVM continues to perform the optical fluorescent measurements properly, the SAFE Sens IVM has a Quality Control Standard. The SAFE Sens IVM measures the fluorescence and compares it to the known value and reports a number indicating the closeness of the measured and known values. When the value is outside of the acceptable bounds the SAFE Sens IVM will alert the user and automatically make an adjustment to bring the system back into control.

“We are excited to partner with Jesper and his world-class team,” said Russ Aldrich, CEO, BCSI. “SAFE Sens has been adapted from our proven blood storage technology for use specifically in CO2 incubators. Because of this, IVF clinicians now have a highly reliable and significantly lower-priced way to monitor pH.”

The SAFE technology is covered by multiple issued and pending US and International equivalent patents. SAFE Sens is a trademark of BCSI.