No benefit to pregnancy or livebirth by time-lapse-based embryo selection in IVF

Since the birth of the first child via in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in 1978, the rate of IVF has been a steadily increasing technique. 1 Steptoe PC Edwards RG Birth after the reimplantation of a human embryo. Lancet. 1978; 2: 366 Abstract PubMed Google Scholar Today more than 10 million children have been born after IVF worldwide and up to 7·7% of children in Europe and 4·7% in the USA are born after IVF. 2 ESHRE ART fact sheet. https://www.eshre.eu/-/media/sitecore-files/Press-room/ESHREARTFactSheetv73.pdf?la=en&hash=361623B1FDF3E05140A0ABF13044104CE42CF595Date: 2022 Date accessed: January 15, 2023 Google Scholar , 3 Wyns C De Geyter C Calhaz-Jorge C et al. ART in Europe, 2018: results generated from European registries by ESHRE. Hum Reprod Open. 2022; 2022hoac022 PubMed Google Scholar , 4 Sunderam S Kissin DM Zhang Y et al. Assisted reproductive technology surveillance—United States, 2018. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2022; 71: 1-19 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar Pregnancy rates occurring via IVF have have improved enormously since the 2010s, partly due to improved cryopreservation techniques and blastocyst culture. 5 Saket Z Källén K Lundin K Magnusson Å Bergh C Cumulative live birth rate after IVF: trend over time and the impact of blastocyst culture and vitrification. Hum Reprod Open. 2021; 2021hoab021 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar Moreover, perinatal risks for the children have decreased, mainly via the introduction and implementation of single-embryo transfer, which decreases incidence of multiple births substantially. 6 Thurin A Hausken J Hillensjö T et al. Elective single-embryo transfer versus double-embryo transfer in in vitro fertilization. N Engl J Med. 2004; 351: 2392-2402 Crossref PubMed Scopus (550) Google Scholar Clinical outcomes of uninterrupted embryo culture with or without time-lapse-based embryo selection versus interrupted standard culture (SelecTIMO): a three-armed, multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trialNeither time-lapse-based embryo selection using the EEVA test nor uninterrupted culture conditions in a time-lapse incubator improved clinical outcomes compared with routine methods. Widespread application of time-lapse monitoring for fertility treatments with the promise of improved results should be questioned. Full-Text PDF