Development of Assisted Reproductive Technology Innovations
New IVF Technique Does Not Increase Pregnancy Chance, But Costs More
Multiple embryos are often created during IVF treatment. The laboratory must then determine which embryo offers the greatest chance of pregnancy. Normally, embryos are removed from the incubator daily for this purpose to be examined under a microscope. This can disrupt the culture conditions.
Increasingly, IVF laboratories are using so-called time-lapse incubators: incubators with built-in cameras that continuously monitor the development of embryos. As a result, embryos no longer need to be removed from their stable environment. Using computer algorithms or artificial intelligence, these images are analyzed to select an embryo. For a long time, it was thought that this technique would increase the chance of pregnancy, but evidence for this was lacking.
This PhD research shows that this expectation is incorrect. Continuously monitoring embryos with a camera and culturing them in a time-lapse incubator does not lead to a higher chance of pregnancy within one year. Nor do patients get pregnant faster than with standard treatment. The method is safe for mother and child, but it entails additional costs. The findings are important because innovations in fertility care are sometimes introduced before it is clear whether they actually work better. High expectations and hype play a role in this. Hospitals invest heavily in this type of technology, while those investments do not always lead to better results for patients. This research underscores how important it is to thoroughly investigate and critically evaluate new technologies before they are widely adopted. Only in this way can unnecessary costs be avoided and care remain affordable in the future.
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