Electronic Witnessing Limits the Opportunity for Clinic Error and Creates Efficiencies for Clinic Teams

TRUMBULL, CT., December 16, 2021 — CooperSurgical, a globally respected provider of more than 600 products, each with a focus on improving the health of women, babies and families, announced today that its RI Witness system is being used in over 40 countries, with several hundred systems installed.   RI Witness is designed specifically for IVF laboratories and is used for all types of Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART).

“With the recent news of not one, but two, mistakes during the IVF process impacting multiple families and children, our RI Witness system becomes an even more critical tool for clinics to help ensure accuracy and limit the potential for human error,” stated Holly Sheffield, President, CooperSurgical, Inc.  “CooperSurgical’s commitment to offering market-leading, high-quality embryology products that ensure repeatability and ultimately peace of mind for IVF patients and clinics is core to why and how we do business.  RI Witness is a perfect example of bringing that commitment to market.”

RI Witness has been created to help minimize potential errors that could occur during ART treatment cycles. This electronic witnessing system supports and guides embryologists in their daily work by monitoring sample movement from one dish or tube to another within the laboratory twenty-four-seven. This system is automated, so it does not require additional steps by embryologists to identify samples.  At critical points, such as egg collection, or embryo transfer, the patients take an active role verbally verifying their identification to give that additional guarantee that their information aligns with that listed in the RI Witness system and assigned to their sample. Only once a match is confirmed can an embryo transfer take place.

“As Lab Directors, we are focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for our patients.  RI Witness creates a detailed, time-stamped log of the step-by-step movement of a patients’ sperm, eggs and embryos and has an unignorable alert if an error in identification happens, making it nearly impossible for an incorrect mix to occur,” stated Dean Morbeck, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Kindbody.  “It also allows my staff to focus on their tasks, without constant interruption, workflow inefficiencies and manual double checking.”

RI Witness alleviates the burden of constant manual human double-witnessing, improving procedure traceability, minimizing the risk of ID errors and helping embryologists work more efficiently and confidently without interruptions.[1] The decreased need for double human manual witnessing can also help clinic management improve staff allocation and training requirements in clinics, social distancing protocols and administrative duties associated with traceability, and compliance with SOPs. 1 For every IVF cycle in the lab, RI Witness helps with the analysis of a clinic’s IVF procedural parameters – comparison in clinic groups, real-time data accessibility, and lab competency review or equipment functionality.[2] It also provides a clearer overview of the front and back-end of clinics to troubleshoot any workflow bottlenecks and ensure that SOPs are maintained, as well as any regulatory compliance requirements for equipment and technical systems.[3]

“Having RI Witness means my teams can focus on embryology,” noted Dr.Morbeck, “making their workflow easier, safer to ultimately deliver better outcomes for patients.”

For more information on RI Witness, click here.

About CooperSurgical

CooperSurgical is a recognized global leader in women’s health and fertility solutions.  Delivering impactful, innovative clinical products and services that advance a world with healthy women, babies and families. CooperSurgical is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CooperCompanies. CooperSurgical, headquartered in Trumbull, CT, produces and markets a wide array of products and services for use by women’s health care clinicians.

[1] CooperSurgical. Case Study: Nurture Fertility Report Increased Productivity Following the Introduction of RI Witness™. 2021.

[2] Holmes R, Wirka KA, Catherino AB, Hayward B, Swain JE. Comparison of electronic versus manual witnessing of procedures within the in vitro fertilization laboratory: impact on timing and efficiency. F&S Reports. 2021;2(2):181-8.

[3] Sakkas D, Barrett CB, Alper MM. Types and frequency of non-conformances in an IVF laboratory. Hum. Rep. 2018;33(12):2196-204.