ABSTRACT
The merging of different areas of biology, engineering, and physics can be expected to bring exciting developments to any field of research. This was evident when micromanipulation was introduced to experimental biology a century ago by Marshall Barber,1
and the approach has shown remarkable value in its application to clinical assisted reproductive technology (ART). Cellular surgery in ART had its beginnings in the early days of promoting fertilization by breaching the zona pellucida;2 this led on to offering real alternatives for male factor infertility by intracytoplasmic injection (ICSI),3 and then expanded to the use of assisted hatching and polar body and embryo biopsy for the purpose of preconception and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).4,5 Since the time that micromanipulation techniques were first cautiously applied in the treatment of infertile patients, hundreds of thousands of babies have been born worldwide as a result of these methods. Thousands of embryologists are now proficient in one or more micromanipulation techniques.
