The RI Witness System is a technology for electronic witnessing which is intended to enable the accurate identification and tracking of eggs, sperm, and embryos during IVF laboratory operations.
The system, which makes use of RFID technology, electronically checks patient-linked samples at various stages of treatment and is able to warn the embryology team if a sample mismatch is found before carrying on.
This adds an extra level of safety and traceability when carrying out procedures such as fertilisation, ICSI, embryo culture, embryo transfer and cryopreservation. At Neelkanth IVF, RI Witness is used in conjunction with the existing laboratory protocols and the verification carried out by the embryologist to ensure accurate sample identification throughout the entire IVF process.
RI Witness creates an electronic link between each patient and every dish, tube and straw that holds their eggs, sperm or embryos. Once this link is created, the system keeps checking it in the background every time a sample is moved. The working can be understood in the following steps:
Step 1 – Patient registration. At the start of the treatment cycle, the patient (or couple) is registered in the RI Witness database and a unique ID code is linked to their identification details. This ID becomes the reference against which every sample is checked during the cycle.
Step 2 – RFID tagging of labware. Every culture dish, test tube and cryo-vessel that will hold the patient's eggs, sperm or embryos is fitted with an RFID tag matched to that patient's ID. These tags are passive, meaning they have no battery of their own and respond only when they are held close to a reader.
Step 3 – Automatic reading at the workstation. Each embryology workstation is fitted with an RI Witness reader (antenna). When a tagged dish or tube enters the reader's range, the tag is read automatically and compared with the database. No manual scanning is needed, and several dishes can be read at the same time without interrupting the embryologist's work.
Step 4 – Match confirmation. If all the dishes and tubes on the workstation belong to the same patient, the system confirms the match and the procedure continues. This ensures that only one patient's samples are handled at a workstation at any given time.
Step 5 – Mismatch alarm. If a dish or tube belonging to a different patient is brought into the same work area, RI Witness immediately raises an audible and visual alarm. Work is stopped until the embryologist checks the samples, finds the reason and corrects it. This way the error is caught before a mix-up can actually take place.
Step 6 – Automatic record keeping. Every movement is recorded with the time of the procedure, the workstation used, the items present and the staff member involved. This builds a complete, time-stamped audit trail for each patient's cycle, which can be reviewed later for traceability and quality control.
Step 7 – Cryopreservation and thawing. Straws and tubes used for freezing carry unique identification tags (RFID and/or barcode) linked to the patient's ID. These stay on the straws while they are in storage and during thawing, so the identity can be verified again when the embryos or gametes are taken out for use.
RI Witness follows the sample through the whole laboratory journey, including sperm preparation, egg collection (oocyte pick-up), fertilisation or ICSI, embryo culture, embryo transfer, and freezing and thawing. Because the check is repeated at each of these points, the patient's identity stays connected to the sample from the beginning of the cycle till the end.
In conventional witnessing, two staff members manually check labels and details at critical steps. This is an important safeguard, but it depends on human attention, which can be affected by workload and long procedures. RI Witness adds an electronic layer to this. It works continuously, reads tags automatically without any extra step, and does not get tired or distracted. Unlike a simple barcode system, where the tag has to be scanned deliberately each time, RFID detection happens automatically as soon as the sample is placed in the work area.
RI Witness supports the embryology team; it does not replace them. Trained embryologists remain in charge of every procedure, respond to every alert and take the final decisions. At Neelkanth IVF, the electronic check works together with the laboratory's standard protocols and the embryologist's own verification, giving two layers of protection instead of one.
For patients, RI Witness offers reassurance that their eggs, sperm and embryos are identified and tracked correctly at every step. The detailed record of each procedure also adds transparency and accountability to the treatment, which helps build trust during an already emotional journey.
