New, improved IVF arrives in region

A PIONEERING method of IVF treatment which is expected to increase pregnancy rates is now available in the North-East.

The system uses specialised incubators incorporating time lapse imaging and powerful data analysing software.

The Fertility Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead now offers time lapse monitoring to patients undergoing IVF treatment.

The new technology incorporates the use of new "Embryoscope" incubators equipped with time lapse imaging. This provides digital images of embryos every 15 minutes, allowing constant assessment of embryo development without removing the embryos from the stable environment of the incubator.

Traditional methods of assessing embryo development during IVF involve removing the embryos from the incubator to examine them under the microscope. This exposes the embryo to changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and light which can be stressful to the embryo and impair its development.

The time lapse images obtained can also provide unprecedented detail of early embryonic development to pinpoint precise timings when key developmental milestones occur.

Using the powerful data analysing software in the Embryoscope, this extra information should enable embryologists to identify healthier embryos that have the best chance of implantation and reduce the risk of miscarriage.

Embryologists can now provide a more stable environment to allow greater numbers of embryos to develop to five days old when the embryo reaches what is called the blastocyst stage.

Blastocyst embryos have a higher chance of implanting to produce a pregnancy. Previously embryos were transferred when only two or three days old. Transfer of blastocyst embryos can improve pregnancy rates following IVF by up to 50 per cent.

Previously IVF units have had to transfer more than one embryo to increase pregnancy rates, this leads to an increase in the rate of more risky multiple pregnancies.

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New, improved IVF arrives in region