Recent years have seen the development of new technologies used in assisted reproduction. One of the news this clinic offers is the use of a camera placed directly in the incubator where embryos develop.
Previously, the embryo morphology was evaluated once a day under the microscope outside of the incubator. This static evaluation system, however, does not allow obtaining complete information on the embryo development, and the embryo must be removed from the incubator outside the ideal cultivation conditions.
At present, there are already several commercially available embryo monitoring systems. These new computer-controlled systems allow for the real-time dynamics of the embryo development to be monitored without disturbing the ideal cultivation conditions directly in a closed incubator. This sophisticated method does not pose any risk to embryos.
Monitoring of the time course of embryo division takes place under the constant maintenance of stable culture conditions. A high-quality image record allows to detect embryo division disorders, and therefore to select them, based on their morphokinetic properties.
Each embryo is placed and subsequently cultured in separate small wells in plastic dishes stored in the incubator, and the camera of the device receives the embryo record approximately every twenty minutes. These records can be played back quickly to obtain information on the development of each embryo at a given time.
Based on embryo images obtained, we can evaluate the time sequence of cell division, shape, size, fragmentation, and determine its development potential. Non-invasive measurement of the regularity of embryo cell division during the first days of the development can be used as an objective indicator of the vivacity of human embryos and used to select the best embryo for the embryo transfer, thereby increasing the success rate of the treatment.