Juan Manuel Moreno, head of the Laboratory of the center of Alicante, gives a day of use and management of this device in Bucharest
This virtual platform is the first and only simulator in the world of intracytoplasmic microinjection (ICSI)
The head of the Laboratory of the HLA Reproduction Unit Vistahermosa, Juan Manuel Moreno, gave a training session on the management and use of Embryo Training at the 5th edition of the Bucharest Embryology Symposium, organized by the Embryologist Association, which was held on 12 And November 13 in the Romanian capital.
Juan Manuel Moreno shared with the participants of this congress his knowledge about this virtual simulator for the training of embryologists, the first and only technology in the world of intracytoplasmic microinjection of spermatozoa (ICSI), a more sophisticated variant of In Vitro Fertilization ) In which a single sperm is injected into the ovum. Embryo Training was created in 2008 by researchers from the HLA Vistahermosa Reproduction Unit and the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and has been instrumental in increasing the chances of success.
The embryologist from Alicante intervened with a theoretical talk prior to a practical demonstration of the use and handling of the device. He explained that “being able to count on this virtual platform in training is fundamental since the training of an embryologist requires a supervised experience of 100 cycles of IVF, which requires the use of biological material, fungible and technologically valuable for the laboratory. This leads to a breeding center having to quantify extra costs if it wants to properly train an embryologist in ICSI techniques. ”
The specialist from Alicante stressed that “a minimum of three hours a day is needed to set up the equipment, prepare the plates, place the gametes and perform the technique correctly. If this protocol has to be performed a hundred times, at least 300 hours are needed; Which means that a perfectly trained biologist needs about 1 or 2 years of training. ”
Juan Manuel Moreno concluded by describing the advantages that Embryo Training offers for training, since “it manages to eliminate the expenses of biological material, fungible and apparatus; Reduce training time; Transfer training outside the laboratory and avoid constant supervision, and all errors made by the student are automatically recorded in the equipment to be evaluated by the laboratory directly.
A virtual breakthrough with real scenarios
The director of the HLA Reproduction Unit Vistahermosa, Jose López Gálvez, indicates that “Embryo Training arises as a project in view of 
the need to create a device that facilitates the complex work of the embryologist during the first hours of training.”
According to the specialist explains, “this technology has been designed for users to practice in all real scenarios, so the platform is prepared to have different types of oocytes and spermatozoa that, depending on how often they occur in Reality, will appear randomly in practices. ”
The simulator represents an important advance in the laboratories in terms of the application costs of the techniques, since it allows the specialists to reach the required sensitivity without the need to spend hours in the real working environment, without the risk of failures in the Real micromanipulator, or the rupture of pipettes, and what is more important, says López Galvez, “without the need to use real human biological material.”
