blog

As of 2010, approximately 4 million babies had been born worldwide as a result of IVF treatment. Despite this, the success rate of IVF is still relatively low, at ~30%. The high emotional, health and financial costs associated with having to undergo the procedure multiple times has driven the need to develop more efficient methods to assess the development potential of embryos to ensure that only those with the highest potential are selected for IVF treatment.

Faculty Member Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz and Associate Faculty Member Anna Ajduk published an article last week in F1000 Biology Reports discussing recent important advancements in the development of alternative methods of embryo evaluation and selection that could lead to improvements in the reliability of IVF treatments.

The article, entitled “Advances in embryo selection methods“, compares the various methods currently used for assessing embryonic viability, and more importantly, discusses new procedures based on advanced time-lapse imaging techniques. These latest methods show signs of promise for increasing the efficiency and success of IVF treatments.

According to lead author Magdalena, a Developmental Biology Faculty Member from the University of Cambridge, her research stems from her own experience during pregnancy that made her aware of the difficulties assessing which embryos will be able to develop well throughout a pregnancy. She realized that new and better methods were needed for assessing embryo quality, for both the mother and the baby. (She is pictured with her little boy in the accompanying photo.)

Magdalena and Anna argue that by developing more reliable methods of assessing embryonic quality, single embryos can be specially selected for transfer, which could reduce the emotional costs and limit the impact on the health of mothers-to-be, as well as improving the overall efficiency of the procedure. They say that reliable selection of high-quality single embryos can be achieved by combining current screening methods with non-invasive time-lapse imaging techniques. In particular, a shorter period between IVF and embryo transfer may be beneficial for success rates, as prolonged time in culture alters the embryo’s gene expression.

Commenting on her findings, Magdalena said, “This is a very effective, rapid and non-invasive way of assessing the health of mammalian embryos. I would be delighted if it can save the lives of human embryos, and I believe it should when applied in the IVF clinic.”

Evidence of improvement in live birth outcomes still has to be determined by testing these methods in a clinical environment and subjecting them to randomized controlled trials; however, they offer great hope for more reliable assessment of embryonic quality and more efficient IVF treatments.