5D Noninvasive Assessment of Embryos with Optical Coherence Tomography
Research type
Research Study
Full title
5-Dimensional High-Resolution Non-Invasive Assessment of IVF Embryos (5DHiResE) using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
IRAS ID
311749
Contact name
Darren Griffin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
CARE Fertility
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an advanced imaging technique already used clinically for visualising the retina of the eye. It produces 3D live images at high resolution without staining and has already been used to visualise mammalian embryos in previous studies. The images produced by OCT are in much finer detail compared to basic microscopy and enable measurements of the embryo to be performed. It is proposed that these measurements directly relate to embryo quality. This study aims to image human IVF embryos donated to research to establish if this technology can be used to identify better quality embryos in clinical practice. The embryos will be genetically tested to see if there is a link between the embryos identified as top quality from OCT and the embryo's chromosome status. It is hoped that this more advanced imaging will help scientists within an IVF clinic select the embryo with the best chance of success for transfer, subsequently improving pregnancy rates for patients.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NW/0176
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion