Researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics have successfully developed an advanced new imaging technique, that can help assess the quality of early-​stage embryos. The research, reported in the Journal Human Reproduction, has the potential to significantly benefit the IVF industry of the future, improving assisted reproduction outcomes for women.

"We use a special type of imaging to show differences in the metabolism and chemical make-​up of embryos before they've been implanted," says lead author Dr Mel Sutton-​McDowall, from the University of Adelaide.

"This technique can give us an objective measure of which embryo to choose as part of the IVF process."

This 'hyperspectral imaging' measures light that cells naturally produce during their normal activities. The light or 'autoflorescence' produced changes according to the chemical reactions or metabolism going on in the cell.
Being able to measure embryo metabolism is viewed by many researchers as one of the most important factors as to whether a particular IVF program will be successful.

Fertility specialists can inform potential clients about this new discovery! Infertility Patients think magazines (17%) and TV (16%) are the best sources for health/​medical information, according to AudienceSCAN survey results.

However, says Dr Sutton-​McDowall, fertility specialists take a largely subjective approach in deciding which embryos should be used.

"Pre-​implantation screening of embryos generally takes place under a normal optical microscope. Although it's quite easy to discern poor embryos (due to differences in uniformity), it is far harder for the clinician to determine objectively, the viability of the other embryos," she says.

"The challenge is how to choose the single healthiest embryo out of this group to maximize the chances of pregnancy."

Dr Sutton-​McDowall sees the use of hyperspectral imaging as a new tool that can be combined with other diagnostic methods to provide a more accurate and objective embryo viability assessment.

Couples trying to start families will be thrilled to hear about this progress. Centers can let them know through social media. The AudienceSCAN survey found 54% of Fertility/​Infertility Patients took action after seeing ads on social networks in the past month.
"The benefit of hyperspectral imaging is that it can capture information-​rich content of inspected objects. It analyses every pixel in an image for its light intensity at differing wavelengths," she says.

"This lets us drill down and analyse the hyperspectral signature of each individual embryo, looking for known or anomalous characteristics. It lets us discriminate between embryos, but also measuring metabolic differences within individual embryos. We predict that embryos that have cells with homogeneous (uniform) metabolic profiles are the healthier ones."

To date, this imaging technology has only been tested on cattle embryos but Dr Sutton-​McDowall notes that the technique is extremely promising.

"It offers benefits of being a non-​invasive imaging approach that provides real-​time information to the clinician," she says.

Doctors can add key words to their SEO/​SEM strategy to target searching parents-​to-​be. The AudienceSCAN study found 47% of Fertility/​Infertility Patients took action based on sponsored search results (like on Google, Yahoo or Bing).

The likely development of a specialized hyperspectral imaging tool for actual use in the IVF clinic is several years away but Sutton-​McDowall believes that there is a strong surge of interest from IVF clinics to better predict embryo development outcomes through technology
"I think we'll see this innovative approach commercialized fairly quickly," she says.

"IVF is a costly and complex treatment. Any new method that can help improve the odds of women successfully having babies is of benefit to both clinicians and their patients."

AudienceSCAN data is available as part of a subscription to AdMall for Agencies, or with the SalesFuel API. Media companies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.