Assisted hatching through micromanipulation has been shown to increase the implantation rate of replaced day 3 embryos. Certain patients may significantly benefit from assisted hatching based on age and infertility diagnosis. Even if sperm – egg interaction and embryonic development proceed normally, attachment of the pre-embryo to the uterus must still occur.

A layer covering the oocyte called the zona pellucida performs many crucial functions in the process of fertilization and development. However, in order for the embryo to implant into the uterine wall, it must hatch out from its zona pellucida with the help of substances produced by the embryo.

A number of findings suggest that human IVF pre-embryos sometimes lack the ability to thin and hatch through their zona pellucida. The assisted hatching procedure utilized in the ART laboratory is called zona drilling. During this process, the pre-embryo is held by a micropipette while an acidic solution (Acid Tyrode’s Buffer) is administered to the surface of the zona pellucida with a microneedle. The process is microscopically observed and carefully controlled. After hatching is achieved, the pre-embryo is returned to fresh culture media in preparation for pre-embryo transfer

Click Here to view the Assisted Hatching Procedure. This video can be viewed using the Microsoft Media Player. Due to the size of the file, we recommend that you have a high-speed internet connection for viewing.