New Technology Increases Chance of Pregnancy for Infertile Couples
Vancouver, Canada (PRWEB) November 26, 2013 -- For the one-in-six BC couples struggling with the financial and emotional burden of infertility, a new technology may increase the odds for success. A growing number of studies are showing that the EmbryoScope -- a time-lapse embryo monitoring system -- may significantly boost the pregnancy rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF), reduce miscarriage rates, and increase the chances of having a healthy baby.
Olive Fertility Centre (olivefertility.com) is the first fertility clinic in Western Canada to offer IVF patients this clinically-tested system that uses time-lapse photography to continuously monitor embryo development from the time of fertilization to the time of transfer into the mother’s uterus.
Studies have shown that "embryo incubation and selection in a time-lapse monitoring system improves pregnancy outcome in comparison with a standard incubator" by over 20%.
"Chromosome abnormalities are the biggest cause of IVF failure," says Dr Jason Hitkari, a reproductive endocrinologist and medical director at Olive Fertility Centre. "The EmbryoScope allows us to precisely capture information about which embryos are developing optimally and more accurately select those embryos that are more likely to be chromosomally normal. This should translate into more successful pregnancies."
Another important advantage of this technology is that it may reduce the risk of twins and other multiple pregnancies. The EmbryoScope allows doctors to select fewer embryos with greater confidence, thus potentially reducing the complications associated with a multiple pregnancy.
"We are constantly searching for ways to improve pregnancy success rates while maintaining the health of the mother and baby," says Hitkari. "This technology offers a real breakthrough as it allow us to transfer a single embryo and potentially achieve as high, or even higher, pregnancy rates than we get with the transfer of two or more embryos in a standard IVF."
Over 88,000 embryos have been analyzed using this technology in over 30 different countries and the experience at most clinics has been an improvement in pregnancy rates between 10% - 25%.
With the increased success rate that this technology offers, couples will potentially need to undergo fewer IVF cycles in order to have a successful pregnancy. "This can help alleviate the financial and emotional stress that many patients experience with infertility," says Hitkari.
Located in Vancouver, BC, Olive Fertility Centre is one of Western Canada’s largest IVF and prenatal diagnosis centres. With an advanced IVF lab and innovative programs that include the EmbryoScope, specialized genetic testing, egg freezing, and prenatal NIPT testing, Olive Fertility (olivefertility.com) provides comprehensive fertility care to infertile couples, single women, and same-sex couples.
Mairi Campbell, Personae Concepts, +1 (778) 885-5300, [email protected]
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