Dr. Suchada Mongkolchaipak had established her medical practice in partnership with Phyathai Sriracha Hospital and has an exclusive “custom-made” world standard embryo laboratory facility to support her in providing the best IVF treatment to her clients. Best possible patient’s outcome, the laboratory was designed in accordance to the best possible standards set by the Jones Institute, EVMS (the pioneers to IVF medicine in America): the procedures and the work environment (from the air purity to the lights) are carefully designed to maximize the viability of the embryos and to prevent any mishaps.
Starting at the entrance to the IVF laboratory, anyone who enters this area has to change into clothes that are made from cotton specially designed for this clean room environment and also sterilized shows to prevent any contamination in the laboratory. A dust trap filter system is also in operation.
Environmental Purity, in contrast to any other clinics whom employs the “Hepa filter system” which filters dust particles larger than 0.3 microns (1 micron is equal to 1/1000 of 1 centimeter) meaning 99.95% of the air are “clean”. The general surgical room and laboratory uses the “Ulpa filter system” which traps even smaller dust particles, bacteria and fungus at 0.12 microns – meaning that at Dr. Suchada’s lab, the air is 99.99% “clean”
The inside of the lab (Clean room) which non medical staff are forbidden to enter
Air shower: Prior to entering the clean room environment, one has to change to a special lint-free, clean protective clothing that covers all the skin surface. The person entering the room than has to enter the air shower room to blow off any particles that got attached to the suit while dressing.
Once inside the clean room, there is normally a great deal of airflow through filtering systems so that any particles that do escape into the air are removed. Clean rooms also have positive pressure, so that air escapes from any opening and keeps particles out.
One of the operating rooms for egg retrieval and embryo transfer
Anesthesiologist administering “twilight-sleep” anesthesia technique to patients having the egg retrieval procedure.
After the egg is retrieved through ultrasound guidance, the eggs (ovum) are sent to the embryo culture lab for analysis and selection.
In the embryo cultivation lab, everything factor is under strict monitoring: temperature, air moist, dust and possible chemical pollutant (like perfumes)
The state of art incubators (FDA approved) growth chambers allow us to regulate the gas content, both carbon dioxide and oxygen, that is important for embryos to develop to blastocysts at the fastest possible rate. The control of the medical grade gases to the incubators is regulated to the tenth of a percent and the accuracy of the gas levels is checked each morning with a state of the art meter that is itself checked. In addition, the pH of media within the incubators is checked to confirm that the level of gas within the incubators is having the desired effect on the media in which the embryos are growing.
The “Vitro safe” system with the ICSI & IMSI microscope inside.
The ICSI microscope system
The IMSI unit which allows us to zoom in 16,000x to select the best sperm used for the treatment
The IMSI microscope from within the “Vitro-safe” incubator
A special system that thaws and locate embryos (or eggs) for treatment.
An Embryologist working within the system
Ever wonder why the lighting are all orange-tinted? That’s because they are specialized lights that won’t affect the embryo’s development.
The Andrology lab where sperm are prepared, analysed for IVF treatments.
Sperm storage facility
In Vitro DNA Fluorescence microscope that’s used to study the chromosomes within the embryo.
The centrifuge equipment is used to “process” sperm by differentiating good ones and bad ones.
Tanks if liquid nitrogen (for Embryo Cryopreservation)
Specialized tubes to contain the embryos
The cassettes hold the tubes that stores the embryos, they are stored individually to keep the embryo safe.
Related articles
- Dr. Suchada Mongkolchaipak (drsuchada.wordpress.com)
- IVF Related Procedures Cryopreservation (layyous.wordpress.com)
Dr. Suchada Mongkolchaipak 