Vitrolife Oocyte Retrieval Needles
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Precision Aspiration Needles for Follicle Puncture & Oocyte Recovery
Vitrolife Oocyte Retrieval Needles
The Vitrolife Oocyte Retrieval Needles portfolio is engineered to elevate the follicle-aspiration phase of assisted-reproduction workflows by combining high precision, ergonomic design and patient-centric features to secure maximal oocyte recovery while minimising trauma. On the website, the “Conventional Single & Double Lumen” version is described as “designed to optimise aspiration time, maximise control and improve patient comfort.” Meanwhile the “Sense™ Single and Double Lumen” variant further advances the technology with a reduced tip for less bleeding and pain, yet maintains rigidity and flow for accurate guidance of the needle. These needles are complemented by dedicated accessories (tubing, gel, covers) to support a streamlined retrieval procedure. By applying consistent manufacturing controls—clean-room production, microscopical inspection of each needle, sterility verification and lot-to-lot traceability—Vitrolife addresses the critical needs of retrieval performance, safety, and reproducibility. From an operational standpoint, the aspirational procedure for oocyte retrieval is fraught with variability—damage to oocytes, extended aspiration time, patient discomfort, risk of bleeding or trauma—all of which can impact the downstream success of fertilisation and embryo development. Vitrolife’s offering is positioned to alleviate these pain-points by providing needles that deliver uncompromised control, intuitive handling, and laboratory-grade manufacturing consistency.
One major pain-point in oocyte retrieval is tissue trauma and bleeding caused by the needle penetration and follicle aspiration process. The Sense needle addresses this by offering a “reduced tip” cross-section surface area (59 % less than a conventional 17 G needle tip in single lumen) while retaining the larger body for rigidity and flow. This means less damage to surrounding ovarian tissue and lower patient discomfort, without compromising the number of oocytes retrieved or extending aspiration time.
Another operational pain-point is the need for rapid and controlled aspiration to minimise exposure time of the oocyte, which is highly vulnerable once removed from the follicle and subjected to tubing and external lab environment. The Conventional and Sense needles are described as “designed to optimise aspiration time” and “maximise control.” By improving visual control (echomarking via laser etching) and ultra-sharp tip design, Vitrolife helps embryology teams reduce stress exposure on the oocyte and thereby potentially improve oocyte integrity.
Control and visibility during the procedure are technical hurdles—poor needle visualization can lead to sub-optimal follicle entry, increased tissue trauma or missed oocytes. The Sense needle offers echomarking via laser etching for high visibility during retrieval. Additionally, the bent cannula and soft tubing prevent kinking and ensure smooth aspiration flow, reducing operator frustrations and variability.
The dual-lumen (double lumen) needle variant is another pain reduction tool—by combining aspiration and flushing tubing, the needle supports follicle flushing in one step which may increase oocyte yield while controlling time. The Conventional double lumen and Sense double lumen both present this functionality. For clinics facing difficulties in maximising oocyte retrieval especially in low-response patients, this offers a technical advantage.
Device quality consistency is a major concern in IVF settings—variability between lots of needles can introduce risk of deviation in aspiration performance, needle rigidity, tip integrity or sterility. Vitrolife addresses this by manufacturing in a controlled clean-room environment, performing microscopical inspection of each needle before release, guaranteeing sterility via validated sterilisation processes, and securing lot-to-lot consistency and traceability. This alleviates the pain of needing extensive incoming QC or replacement of sub-standard needles.
Patient comfort and safety are critical but often compromised in oocyte retrieval procedures where anxiety, pain and postoperative discomfort are real issues. Vitrolife emphasises that a successful aspiration needs to be “fast, precise and retrieve the maximal amount of undamaged oocytes without complications” and that a needle that causes minimal tissue damage will also lessen complications and patient discomfort. By providing reduced-tip designs and ergonomic handling features (colour-coded peel-off labels, Luer-lock options, bent cannula/tubing) Vitrolife helps reduce the pain of patient discomfort, bleeding and prolonged recovery.
Workflow standardisation and integration with other retrieval consumables is a common operational pain-point—switching between needle brands, tubing types or accessory gels introduces delays, training burden and risk of mismatches. Vitrolife supports a full assortment: “Needle accessories — tubing and gel to facilitate the oocyte retrieval process.” This helps embryology labs reduce the logistical pain of managing multiple suppliers and heterogeneous product sets.
In clinics striving for high-throughput and reproducible oocyte yield, any deviation in aspiration set-up (needle length, gauge, inner/outer diameter, tubing length) can introduce variation in volume, flow resistance, or trauma. The Conventional needle page lists outer diameters (e.g., 1.4 mm gauge 17.5), inner diameters (1.0 mm), lengths (300-350 mm) and aspiration tubing lengths (600-1000 mm) to give precise specification options. By offering a clear menu of specifications, Vitrolife enables clinics to select the optimal combination for their equipment and contours of patient anatomy — thereby reducing the pain of guesswork and inconsistent setups.
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