Advanced incubator increases IVF success

Couples seeking fertility treatment can avail of an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology, which helps doctors track the growth of an embryo in real-time, at Lilavati Hospital, Bandra.

Couples seeking fertility treatment can avail of an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology, which helps doctors track the growth of an embryo in real-time, at Lilavati Hospital, Bandra.

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The advanced incubator, called Embryoscope, records the growth of an embryo fertilised outside the mother’s womb and helps doctors select the best embryo to implant in the womb. This technique increases the success rate of IVF cycles by 17%.

“We normally use it for couples who have failed to conceive with IVF earlier. We can plot out which embryo is growing the fastest and is the best and then implant it. Normally, we would miss the signs of bad embryo growth,” said Dr Nandita Palshetkar, consulting IVF expert, Lilavati Hospital. She said they have used the technology for 15 couples so far.

Doctors use box incubators, where the embryo is removed periodically to check its growth under the microscope.

The Embryoscope, in which 72 embryos can be grown, takes photographs of each embryo every 20 minutes. “The clinics can give parents access to these photographs,” said Dilip Patil, Trivector Scientific Private Limited, a Mulund-based company which is marketing the equipment in India.