SBIR Phase I: Novel Acoustic Tweezers for Enhanced Efficiency Ova Denudation in ART

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide a contactless single cell micromanipulation tool using modulated sound waves. This technology will improve single cell handling. The proposed innovation allows handling of delicate biological materials of various sizes. This project will automate various procedures within an embryology lab to decrease costs. The successful development and commercialization of the proposed acoustic tool will increase procedure reliability and embryologists’ productivity. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a semi-automated acoustic tweezer capable of handling delicate biological materials that are 7-15 microns, 100-120 microns, and 400-700 microns using a single frequency. This contactless automation technology aims to remove user-performance variability by using acoustic approach that helps embryologists perform the denudation procedure optimally. This technology is designed as an accessory to assist embryologists by lowering skill dependency, not to replace them, a threat imposed by robotic solutions with liability concerns. This contactless approach also relaxes the concerns over the micropipette supply chain, their expiration date and the time and resources used for their sterilization. This project will develop a user-friendly commercial module based on end-user feedback and will ensure optimal performance by rigorously testing it on mice gametes and optimizing the denudation conditions. This enhancement may result in superior blastocyst quality. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.