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Published on: September 18, 2016
Selection of high-potential embryos by culture in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microwells and time-lapse imaging
Shu Hashimoto1, Nobuhiro Kato, Kazuhiro Saeki
1IVF Namba clinic, Osaka, Japan. hashimoto@ivfnamba.com
Objective:
To assess the developmental kinetics of human embryos and their ability to develop to morphologically normal blastocysts.
Design:
Experimental study on human embryos donated for research using a time-lapse imaging system based on individual embryo culture in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microwells and monitored using a microscope inside the incubator.
Setting:
Private fertility clinic.
Patient(S):
Surplus embryos donated by couples after undergoing fertility treatment.
Intervention(S):
None.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Blastocyst score and times required from beginning to completion of the second and third mitotic divisions.
Result(S):
The time required for completion of the second division (the three- to four-cell stage) was shorter in embryos that developed to high-scoring blastocysts (0.7 hours, n = 17) than in those forming low-scoring blastocysts (3.7 hours, n = 24). Similarly, the mean time required to completion of the third division (five- to eight-cell stage) was also significantly shorter in embryos forming high-scoring blastocysts (5.7 hours) than among those forming low-scoring blastocysts (16.9 hours).
Conclusion(S):
Individual embryos with the potential to develop to high-scoring blastocysts could be selected at 2-3 days of culture using this system by examining the times required to complete the second and third mitotic divisions.
