Fiber-optic viscoelasticity measurement system for embryo: gelatin model experiment

We studied a fiber-optic dynamic viscoelasticity measurement system to develop a noninvasive measurement for human embryo viability. We obtained the dynamic viscoelasticity of a gelatin gel model (1/spl times/1/spl times/1 cm) by optical displacement monitoring, stress and phase difference monitoring. In our preliminary system, we employed the combination of noninvasive optical displacement measurement and contact vibrational addition to the sample. Fiber-optic reflectometry of a He-Ne laser through a thin fiber was used. We obtained the linear relation between the estimated dynamic viscoelasticity and gelatin concentration to be from 3.75 to 7.5%. Moreover, this estimated dynamic viscoelasticity coincided with the reported value. These results indicated the possibility of noncontact and noninvasive effective evaluation for embryo viability.