title: A new assisted hatching technique using a piezo-micromanipulator.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the efficacy of a new assisted hatching technique using a piezo-micromanipulator to support embryonic implantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sibling spare embryos from human cycles of IVF were allocated to either a treated group for assisted hatching by a piezo-micromanipulator or a nontreated control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Infertility and IVF unit of the Kyoto University Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-eight women undergoing conventional IVF treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred ten spare 4- or 8-cell embryos from 68 patients undergoing IVF were treated with the new assisted hatching technique, and the results were compared with those obtained for 112 sibling embryos without the treatment. In the assisted hatching procedure, zona thinning combined with drilling was performed by the vibration of a microneedle produced by the piezo-micromanipulator unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  The rates of partial hatching and completely hatched blastocysts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rates of hatching and of hatched blastocysts per total developing blastocysts were significantly higher in the treated group (86.7% and 33.3%, respectively) than in the control group (15.3% and 2.8%, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrate that the newly devised zona thinning and drilling technique using a piezo-micromanipulator is useful for assisted hatching.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tastumi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mori
mesh_terms: D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology*; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015044:Zona Pellucida