A beautiful embryo means nothing if it cannot break out of its shell to attach to the uterus. Using state-of-the-art laboratory lasers, we give your embryo the precise mechanical opening it needs to ensure a successful pregnancy.
Every human embryo is surrounded by a protective protein shell called the Zona Pellucida. This shell helps protect the embryo as it travels down the fallopian tube.
However, once the embryo reaches the uterus on Day 5 (Blastocyst stage), it must physically break out of this shell ("hatch") to embed itself into the uterine lining. If it cannot hatch, you cannot get pregnant.
Under a highly magnified microscope, the embryologist fires a microscopic, computer-calibrated laser beam at the zona pellucida. This creates a tiny, perfectly round hole in the shell, drastically lowering the physical barrier and allowing the embryo to easily escape and implant after it is transferred into the uterus.
The embryo is trapped.
A precise opening is made.
As women get older (typically 38 and above), the zona pellucida of their eggs naturally becomes thicker and much harder. The laser neutralizes this age-related barrier.
The cryopreservation (freezing) process causes the embryo's shell to harden chemically. We routinely use Laser Assisted Hatching on all thawed embryos to reverse this hardening prior to transfer.
If you have had multiple IVF attempts where beautiful embryos were transferred but failed to result in a pregnancy, shell hardening is a prime suspect.
In order to perform PGT-A, the embryologist must extract a few cells from the embryo. The laser is used to safely create a microscopic opening to extract these testing cells without harming the embryo.