EmGenisys improves pregnancy outcomes of embryo transfer in livestock
Via the Rochester Business Journal
EmGenisys is one of the startups from around the world working with the Luminate NY accelerator at NextCorps in downtown Rochester. These companies are helping to write the next chapter in Rochester’s history as the world’s center for optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI).
EmGenisys received an initial investment of $50,000 as a non-competing regional participant, which allows them to take part in the six-month program to speed the commercialization of their technology and business. Funding for the $25 million Luminate program is being provided through Empire State Development’s Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
“New York State business competitions offer startups the ability to connect with valuable regional resources to further develop their technologies here and change their trajectory,” said Dr. Sujatha Ramanujan, managing director of Luminate. “EmGenisys is just one example of a company that is speeding its path to market availability through its association with Grow NY and Luminate. Since becoming a regional participant, the startup has evolved considerably by forging partnerships in the Rochester and Finger Lakes community that will help them expand their product application and reach.”
We caught up with Cara Wells, co-founder and CEO of EmGenisys, to discuss how the company is helping veterinarians evaluate embryos and improve pregnancy outcomes in livestock through technology that might also someday help humans grow their families.
Tell us about your company.
EmGenisys is an early-stage animal agriculture tech company. We are developing technology to evaluate embryo health to improve pregnancy outcomes of In vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer in livestock. Our flagship product is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that non-invasively analyzes embryo morphokinetic activity.
Veterinarians simply record 30 second videos of embryos with their smartphone camera. To the human eye, these embryos look like still blobs of cells, but the videos are able to capture hidden morphokinetic, cellular activity. Once the videos are uploaded to our web-based platform, our technology analyzes each frame to determine which embryos are growing and developing normally.
Our models leverage machine learning that has been trained to make advanced predictions pertaining to embryo health, including viability, sex, and genetic competency. Veterinarians can use this information to select the healthiest embryos with the highest likelihood of surviving to term. EmGenisys technology surpasses the industry gold standard for embryo assessment and requires a fraction of the time and cost of other solutions.
