Introducing microfluidic technologies to preserve female fertility
Bragg Centre member, Dr Virginia Pensabene is developing innovative microfluidic devices that model human physiology with a specific focus on improving in-vitro fertility (IVF) procedures.
The challenge
Infertility is a growing global health issue, affecting more than 48 million couples each year. As people delay having children, and as environmental and lifestyle factors increasingly influence reproductive health, many individuals and families seek help through assisted reproductive technologies, including in-vitro fertility (IVF).
IVF has transformed the landscape of fertility care, yet success rates remain far from optimal. In the UK, for example, only about one third of IVF cycles for women under 35 lead to a live birth. Many factors contribute to this challenge, but one of the most critical and least addressed is the environment in which early embryos develop during IVF.
In nature, a fertilised egg travels from the fallopian tube to the uterus, surrounded by a carefully regulated biochemical and mechanical environment that supports its early growth. In the laboratory however, embryos are typically cultured in static plastic dishes in droplets covered with mineral oil to prevent evaporation.
Although this approach has enabled millions of births worldwide, it exposes embryos to risks such as fluctuations in temperature, pH and oxygen levels, chemical contaminants, and mechanical stress during handling. Embryologists must perform delicate micropipetting steps repeatedly during the first crucial days of development, a process that is time consuming, highly variable, and strongly dependent on operator skill.
Clinics are also under pressure. Demand for IVF far exceeds capacity, and embryology teams face workforce shortages, high workload, and increasingly complex protocols. A technology that could reduce handling, standardise culture conditions, and better replicate the natural environment would not only support healthier embryo development but also relieve pressure on staff, improve consistency, and ultimately increase chances of pregnancy.
The solution
Dr Virginia Pensabene has spent more than a decade developing advanced microfluidic systems to replicate in vitro female reproductive organs.
An Associate Professor of Electronics and Biomedical Engineering in the School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Virginia’s work sits at the intersection of reproductive biology, microfluidics, and medical device innovation. She has joined forces with her University of Leeds colleague, Professor Helen Picton to focus on one of the most delicate systems in medicine.
Her flagship innovation, the IVFmicro device, is the first microfluidic platform designed specifically to support embryo culture from fertilisation to blastocyst, a key stage of early embryonic development. This technology replaces the traditional oil-covered droplets with a closed, controlled microenvironment that mimics key features of the reproductive tract. Embryos are placed in a protective chamber within the device where its volume, temperature stability, gas exchange, and mechanical conditions can be tightly regulated. Because the embryos remain securely enclosed, handling steps are reduced dramatically, lowering the risk of stress or accidental damage.
Thanks to the advanced fabrication facilities and collaboration with colleagues in the Bragg Centre, the technology has developed from early proof of concept and prototyping stage to a fully functional device. Made from embryo-safe, medical-grade materials and manufactured using precision moulding processes that eliminate toxic residues, the device is optically clear, making it compatible with existing microscopes and time-lapse imaging systems. IVFmicro showed improved rates of embryo development in early testing, including higher blastocyst formation and hatching rates in mouse, bovine, and sheep models.
Beyond the device itself, Virginia is building the ecosystem needed for translation to the clinic through IVFmicro Ltd, a University of Leeds spin-out. She leads a multidisciplinary team that includes embryologists, engineers, regulatory experts, health-economics specialists, and clinicians across major UK fertility centres.
IVFmicro is advancing the device through regulatory pathways, establishing manufacturing routes, training embryologists, and preparing for future evaluation with human embryos. With support from Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber and private investors, the team is designing a pathway to demonstrate safety, usability, and clinical benefit, with the aim of reaching the market by 2030.
IVFmicro recently received a £3.5m investment of pre-seed funding led by Northern Gritstone with support from the Innovate UK Investor Partnerships Programme. The funding will be used for IVFmicro’s next verification and validation phase, leading to trials on human embryos in fertility clinics.
The impact
By offering embryos a more natural, stable, and protective environment, IVFmicro could meaningfully increase the proportion of embryos that reach full development, the blastocyst stage, and improve their quality, leading to successful implantation and pregnancy. Even a modest increase in embryo quality could lead to higher live birth rates, fewer treatment cycles, reduced emotional and financial burden on patients, and more efficient clinics.
Beyond immediate clinical impact, IVFmicro could open the door to a new generation of reproductive technologies. Future versions of the device include integrated sensors capable of monitoring the embryo environment in real time, offering unprecedented insight into early human development. Virginia’s vision is not only to improve one step of the IVF treatment, but to build a platform for safer, automated and more accessible fertility care on a global scale.
Visit the IVF Micro website to find out more.
Speaking about the recent investment in IVFmicro, Dr Pensabene said:
“As a biomedical engineer, I began exploring the potential of this technology in 2017, when Helen and I first met at the University of Leeds.
“From the start, our goal was to translate our research into a real solution for patients. Thanks to the combination of grant funding and Northern Gritstone’s support — both through investment and its innovation programmes — we have been able to grow our team in Leeds and take a major step toward bringing this precision-engineered IVF solution to market.”
