Telemonitoring in IVF/ICSI

Traditionally, ovarian stimulation for IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection is performed by healthcare professionals, requiring the patient to make frequent visits to these centres. We describe the rationale, research findings and early clinical experience with home-based sonography for IVF patients.

Published experience indicates that selected patients are able to procure video sequences themselves; they value the empowerment, discretion and decreased stress involved in these visits; partner involvement increases as well.

Experience is still limited but consistently indicate patients' willingness and competence to procure sonograms; home sonography is positive from the patients' perspective but may be disruptive form the healthcare provider's point of view.