Embryoscope - a big game changer for couples trying to start a family

07.04.2015

Couples having a hard time getting pregnant often turn to fertility clinics to improve their chances of having a baby.

And now one clinic in USA has a new way to improve the chances of success. The Missouri Center for Reproductive Medicine in Chesterfield has the only Embryoscope in the region.

It`s an expensive piece of equipment that is supposed to improve the chances of successful pregnancy through In Vitro Fertilization. ‘This is a big game changer,’ said Shawn Zimmerman, Lab Director and Embryologist at MCRM Fertility.

Embryoscopes are sophisticated incubators that provide fertility doctors better information about which embryos have the best chance of leading to a live birth.

Such equipment can collect information about the development of the embryo every five minutes, 24 hours a day, giving doctors a much better picture of its chances for success once transferred back into the mother.

Usually, embryos used for In Vitro Fertilization are evaluated for only a few minutes a day, once a day.

‘You are able to often predict which ones have the best probability of making a baby within 48 hours of fertilization,’ said Dr. Peter Ahlering, MCRM Fertility Medical Director.

Accoedint to statictics, fertility clinics that are using an Embryoscope have seen the number of miscarriages drop between 20 to 50 percent.

‘This allows me to go in not just for that one time look,’ said Zimmerman. ‘I can go back hour by hour and notate if there is an abnormality that I would not have caught,’ he said.

The Embryoscope along with being more accurate, also makes In Vitro Fertilization less expensive because of the time savings. And because of its accuracy, it also substantially decreases the chance of giving birth to twins.

Based on: fox2now.com