Technology

Finally, a Breakthrough for Better Embryo Development.

Incept’s SMART StartTM system delivers a cell culture that mimics in vivo conditions. The SMART Start technology platform is designed to be the first microfluidic system that will address the demanding user requirements of fertility professionals while reproducing physiologic conditions ideal for embryo and oocyte culture in the Assisted Reproduction lab. With these new capabilities, fertility clinics will now have powerful new alternatives to improve the quality of care for patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.

Premium Cell Culture Made Simple.

Incept’s SMART Start technology platform delivers the first ever easy-to-use cell culture system that closely mimics microscale physiologic conditions ideal for managing the culture of premium cells. Due to their high sensitivity to in vitro conditions, premium cells typically are the most expensive to sustain and difficult to manage in macroscale culture conditions. Even small improvements in premium cell behavior can lead to significant gains in clinical value. There is a growing need within cell biology for a simple way to create and control conditions to close the gap between the current in vitro standards and in vivo conditions

SMART IN ACTION

The SMART Start system controls fluids more easily and with more flexibility than any known system. Using its patent-pending array of tiny actuated valves, the SMART Start microfluidic culture system generates peristaltic flow by pressing the micro valve heads into a pumpable microfluidic cartridge.

Unlike other attempts to bring the power of microfluidics to market through complex fluidic design, Incept’s mission was to create a flexible and reconfigurable fluidic control platform. Incept BioSystems will first leverage this platform to transform how fertility specialists inseminate, culture, select, and freeze human embryos during the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process. The SMART pump and culture cartridge are the perfect first product for this robust technology that will finally enable cell biology researchers and clinicians to easily mimic near in vivo conditions ideal for in vitro applications across various disciplines of biology and medicine.

Simulating Physiological Conditions In Vitro

Incept believes that any technology must minimize operating knowledge requirements so that clinicians can focus on what is important: generating improved cell and embryo performance only possible in dynamic culture environments similar to those found in the human body.

The SMART Start system will allow IVF clinicians to culture embryos in an environment that "moves" much like the gentle flows within which an embryo matures while in the human Fallopian tubes. Using the powerful tool of microfluidics, the SMART platform helps to replenish valuable nutrients and recirculate metabolic byproducts.