Hi I am in the process of making a II system. I would consider buying one but it is such a lot of money for what I can see is an overcomplicated over polished overpriced system. I have an engineer friend who can make the standard base. I have sorted the CO2 side. I have a list of bits that I need to buy but I'd like your advice on the best of the following.
Sting hook (Looking at the luer Schley)
Dorsal hook (Schley)
Holders for both (Schley)
Gilmont GS-1100 for Harbo system
What are the components that go from the syringe to tip? Is standard tubing sufficient, and what is the size.
Any help with this is very much appreciated, I could do without making BIG mistakes.
Thanks,
Mark
Some of this depends on whether you use a device mounted standard syringe (where the tips are usually ~85mm) or a Harbo syringe (where the tips are usually ~30mm). I think most people use the Harbo syringe now because it removes any movement you might transfer to the device while operating the syringe.
The sting hook (and forceps) are used on the right (dorsal) side so I think you mean a ventral hook. If you are left-handed, the model II Schley insemination device can be rotated so the dorsal side faces you and the Harbo syringe moved around to the left.
In the case of the device mounted syringe, the 85mm tip accommodates the sperm stack and is not transferred to a micro-pipette. In the case of the Harbo syringe, the 30mm tip is joined to a micro-pipette (which is housed in a clear glass barrel for ease of handling as the micro-pipette is very fragile) with a small (~1cm) piece of silicone tubing. It is effectively a sleeve which joins the two glass pieces together and has the same internal diameter as the external diameter of the tip/micro-pipette. You will get a piece of this in the pack if you order from Alexander Wachholz.
At the other end of the micro-pipette, you will join onto another piece of silicone tubing. The joint is formed with a small metal barrel (like a blunt syringe needle) covered with another 1cm piece of the silicone tubing. It forms a reasonably secure joint which has to withstand all pressure of the syringe being reduced to 0.15mm.
At the other end of the silicone tubing you have another metal tube (like another blunt syringe needle - not sure what these pieces are called) but this has a leur fitting which allows you to attach the tubing to the syringe.
I know a lot of this is descriptive rather than precise, but I have tried to explain the way these parts fit together and how they do the job.
As always, there are "many ways to skin a cat" and you could also choose the 85mm tip/pipette combination which has fewer parts. The disadvantage is that you have to have a steady hand so as not to move the instrument while operating the syringe. Any movement at the syringe end can have a disastrous effect at the tip end so you want this to be as stable as possible
