“We have had lots of advances in IVF over the years that help particular types of patients – genetic testing or sperm injection, for example – but this is going to be useful for all patients because, irrespective of what treatment you’re having, you can give your embryos the best culture environment possible by putting them into the embryoscope. “For me the embryoscope is one of the most exciting developments because it’s for all patients. “I think it’s probably the most exciting breakthrough since I’ve been doing IVF and I’ve been doing IVF since the very beginning,” he tells Modern Medicine.

Their research, published in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online, demonstrated a 56% uplift in live births, equivalent to a 78% live birth rate. Prof Fishel, who is managing director of the CARE Fertility Group, was in Dublin recently to promote a groundbreaking innovation that combines this time-lapse imagery and a new selection model, devised by him and his team at CARE Fertility clinics in the UK and Dublin, that predicts which embryos have the greatest potential for a successful pregnancy. Many argue that it could offer the IVF industry a paradigm shift, leading to higher pregnancy success rates and improved value for clinics and patients. The embryoscope has not only raised the bar for optimising the environment in which embryos develop, its time-lapse-enabled embryo assessment has also opened up unique opportunities to develop new parameters for future embryo scoring and selection. The device inspiring the eminent embryologist’s rush of enthusiasm is a ‘super incubator’ called the embryoscope, a closed and controlled culture environment that allows for continuous monitoring and observation of up to 72 embryos at a time, using a microscope with built-in camera for automated time-lapse imaging.Ī number of separate studies have found that the embryoscope can increase the success rate of IVF by up to 20%, and can also achieve 15% higher survival of embryos than traditional incubators. When Prof Simon Fishel converses excitedly about a new piece of high-tech equipment, the world of assisted reproduction would be wise to take note.Īn internationally distinguished specialist in the field of fertility treatment, he has been at the forefront of many key scientific firsts in the field of embryology and infertility since his time on the team that assisted the birth of the first in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or ‘test tube’ baby in 1978.

Embryoscope | fertility | in vitro fertilisation | incubation AUTHORS:

Super incubator