Live births after embryo selection using morphokinetics versus conventional morphology: a retrospective analysis.

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Embryology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Clinical studies on time-lapse imaging for embryo selection show varied protocols and small cohorts.
• Current outcome measures often focus on implantation or clinical pregnancy, with few evaluating live birth.
• Most studies overlook patient/treatment variables, treating embryos as independent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare live birth rates using objective morphokinetic algorithms versus conventional embryology for embryo selection.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of time-lapse imaging algorithms in a large patient cohort.
• To analyze the impact of morphokinetic data on live birth outcomes in different age groups.

Main Methods:

• A large cohort study involving 14,793 patients and 23,762 cycles.
• Comparison of live birth incidence between embryos selected by morphokinetic algorithms and conventional methods.
• Statistical analysis of live birth outcomes based on patient age and egg source.

Main Results:

• A 19% increase in live birth incidence was observed in patients under 38 using morphokinetic data for embryo selection (OR 1.19).
• A 37% increase in live birth incidence was noted for oocyte recipients over 37 (OR 1.370).
• This study represents the largest prospective evaluation of time-lapse imaging algorithms for IVF live birth outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Objective morphokinetic algorithms represent a significant advancement in embryo selection for in vitro fertilization.
• Time-lapse imaging-based selection demonstrates a potential to improve live birth rates, particularly in specific patient demographics.
• Further research is needed to assess closed systems versus standard incubation in time-lapse imaging outcomes.