Live Stream Of Embryos Growing In The Lab Which Couples Can Watch To Ease The Anxiety Of IVF

• Some IVF clinics are offering patients live steaming of their embryos developing

• Footage provided by IVF Cube shows a healthy embryo and a non-viable one

• Captured using an Embryoscope, a new type of incubator with a built-in camera

• Alerts embryologists to any problems and allows patients to be kept in the loop

• Said to ease stress of the three-to-five day wait and to help even if it's bad news

Ask anyone having in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment and they will tell you that the process is emotional and tense.

Successful fertilisation of an egg is just the start – embryos need to grow in the laboratory for up to five days before being transferred into the womb.

But not all turn out healthy enough (or 'viable') to be implanted.

Anxious couples – who may have paid thousands for treatment privately – often constantly call the clinic for updates throughout.

Now a handful of clinics in the UK are offering patients the chance to see a live video stream of the development of their embryos, any time of the day or night from the comfort of their home.

This footage, provided by IVF Cube, captures an embryo as it grows healthily – no doubt bringing great hope for one couple, along with one that wasn't meant to be.

The video was captured on an Embryoscope, a new type of special incubator that has a built-in camera.

This continuously captures images of the embryo several times an hour and records them as a video of the embryonic development.

There are no risks associated with the monitoring itself. The camera captures embryos in red light for a very short period of time – 15 milliseconds.

As well as alerting embryologists of impending problems, it is now being used to keep patients in the loop, as long as they invest some time to educate themselves what they are looking for.

How does a healthy embryo develop?

During a typical round of IVF, an egg is collected from either a female patient or a female donor before being fertilised with sperm.

The embryo is then allowed to develop for between three to five days. If it has developed sufficiently, and with no abnormalities, it can then be transferred into the uterus.



Fertilised eggs are called zygotes and are cultured in a specially formulated culture medium that supports their growth.

They will be assessed on the second and third day after retrieval.

If sufficient numbers of embryos exhibit good growth and development, they may be selected to grow to the blastocyst stage in a specially designed culture medium.

Embryos at this stage have a higher potential for implantation, meaning fewer embryos can be transferred on day five in order to reduce the chance of multiple pregnancies.



Fertilised eggs are called zygotes and are cultured in a specially formulated culture medium that supports their growth.

They will be assessed on the second and third day after retrieval.

If sufficient numbers of embryos exhibit good growth and development, they may be selected to grow to the blastocyst stage in a specially designed culture medium.

Embryos at this stage have a higher potential for implantation, meaning fewer embryos can be transferred on day five in order to reduce the chance of multiple pregnancies.

Do couples know what they are looking at?

IVF Cube's medical director Dr Hana Visnova, whose clinic is in Prague, Czech Republic, is treating more and more visitors from the UK and Ireland who opt for live streaming.

She admits that it's not easy for the layperson to understand and interpret everything they're seeing on the stream.

She said: 'They need to invest a little time to educate themselves in how an embryo should grow and develop in order to get the best out of the service.

'Those who know little about human embryos can at first be slightly confused about the images they're seeing.

'They have no idea how to interpret what is normal and what is not normal.'

Therefore, all who sign up for the service – which costs €500 – are given a detailed guide as to how to interpret the images.

Images can either be downloaded from the live feed, or the images can be provided on a USB memory stick from the clinic itself.

Patients feel in control

Dr Visnova says there are many benefits to the online monitoring of embryo.

'For us, it provides more information about development, reducing the number of embryos transferred without reducing the success rate of the overall treatment.

'And for the patients, they get to see for themselves, in real time, precisely how their cultivated embryos are developing.

'In the past, patients were typically calling the clinic on a daily basis to find out how many embryos they have, how the embryos are developing, or if they have survived at all.

'It can be an extremely stressful time – the need to know can be agonising.

'But with EmbryoScope, they can sit at home at midnight, when our clinic is closed and find answers to their questions.'

Dr Visnova says that the EmbryoScope service could help patients cope even if it's bad news.

'If a patient can see their embryo deteriorating, it can be an extremely difficult time.

'But many take comfort in the fact that they at least were able to monitor the situation themselves.'

Dr Visnova said especially when UK patients are dealing with clinics abroad – of varying reputations – live streaming provides confidence and trust in the service.

Since opening six years ago, IVF Cube has reported more than 550 positive pregnancy tests out of more than 670 Irish patients. This gives a cumulative success rate of 83 per cent.



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