For couples undergoing fertility treatments, every egg retrieved counts. Experts widely acknowledge that a higher number of eggs dramatically increases the chances of a successful pregnancy and the birth of a healthy baby. What’s truly astonishing, a recent study published in Nature Medicine suggests, is that conventional egg retrieval practices frequently overlook a substantial portion of these vital eggs.
The research highlights a novel automated technology designed to maximize egg recovery. Traditionally, embryologists meticulously search follicular fluid under high-powered microscopes, after which the fluid is discarded. However, this new microfluidic device, named OvaReady, can sift through this ‘discarded’ fluid and uncover additional viable eggs, an outcome that has surprised even seasoned professionals in the field.
Dr. Mitchell Rosen, head of reproductive laboratories at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the study, expressed his astonishment, noting that the device found eggs that would otherwise have been considered unusable.
The OvaReady device operates by guiding follicular fluid through a sophisticated system of micro-channels. In the study, this technology was applied to already-examined fluid from 582 patients across four clinics. Remarkably, the device yielded extra eggs from 316 of these patients, accumulating an impressive total of 582 additional eggs.
Crucially, a segment of the study involving 19 patients saw a successful full-term pregnancy result from an embryo conceived using an egg retrieved by the OvaReady device. This couple welcomed a healthy daughter in September, a testament to the technology’s potential.
The parents, who preferred to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, shared their journey. After 18 months of trying to conceive naturally and a failed IVF cycle, they described their situation as “grasping at straws.” When offered the chance to participate in the OvaReady study, they readily agreed. The mother, 33, emphasized that the device found eggs that would have otherwise been discarded, leading to their healthy baby.
AutoIVF, the Massachusetts-based company behind OvaReady, conducted the study with support from a National Institutes of Health grant. Ravi Kapur, CEO of AutoIVF and an author of the study, explained that the device’s initial goal was to streamline and standardize egg identification. He expected it might recover a small percentage of overlooked eggs, perhaps 10 percent, but certainly not the consistent 50 percent observed across high-performing clinics.
(Due to confidentiality agreements, the specific clinics involved in the study, all located in the eastern United States and part of larger networks, could not be identified.)
AutoIVF is currently in discussions with the Food and Drug Administration for clinical approval. In the interim, clinics can integrate the device into their research protocols. Dr. Kapur anticipates that some clinics may opt to process a patient’s entire follicular fluid with OvaReady, while others might use a hybrid approach, combining manual examination with subsequent device screening. Pricing for the device has not yet been announced.
Fertility experts outside the research team acknowledge these promising findings but emphasize the need for larger studies. Further research is essential to confirm how frequently eggs found by OvaReady can develop into high-grade embryos and ultimately result in live births.
Dr. Elnur Babayev, an assistant professor specializing in reproductive endocrinology at Northwestern University, who peer-reviewed the study, stated that key questions persist: “Is that going to increase the likelihood that any given patient will have a baby using that technology, and how many babies will they have?”
Rebecca Robker, a professor of reproductive biology at Adelaide University in Australia, noted that despite the limited number of embryos and one birth, the study clearly demonstrated that the extra eggs recovered were indeed viable, not merely underdeveloped or unwanted. Still, she suggests OvaReady’s initial use could be as a “backup and a safety check” to ensure no viable eggs are missed rather than a complete replacement for current methods.
Some experts speculate that OvaReady could eventually become the primary method for follicular fluid analysis, freeing embryologists to focus on other critical tasks, particularly in regions facing a shortage of skilled personnel.
It’s important to note that the study focused on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), where sperm is directly injected into an egg, not conventional IVF where sperm naturally fertilizes eggs in a petri dish. This is because OvaReady performs ‘denudation,’ a step of removing surrounding cells necessary for ICSI. However, Dr. Kapur mentioned that nearly 80 percent of fertility patients use ICSI, and a modified version of OvaReady could be developed for conventional IVF patients, bypassing the denudation step.
Initial experiments with cow eggs led the team to test the device on human follicular fluid that had already undergone conventional examination. To their surprise, OvaReady recovered not just the eggs they had intentionally added for testing, but also *additional* eggs missed by manual search.
To further evaluate the viability of these newly discovered eggs, follicular fluid from 19 patients, previously manually searched, was screened with OvaReady. For 11 of these patients, the device found at least one extra egg, totaling 23 additional eggs. Twelve of these 23 were mature enough for fertilization, and four were successfully fertilized into high-quality blastocysts that could be frozen for future use. In comparison, the conventional method in these 19 patients yielded 225 eggs, 175 of which were mature, resulting in 39 usable blastocysts.
One of the OvaReady-derived blastocysts was implanted in the woman who successfully gave birth in September.
This woman, a physician herself, recalled her initial IVF cycle at Boston IVF, which produced a normal number of eggs but zero embryos. For her second cycle, Dr. Lauren Murphy, a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF, offered participation in the OvaReady study. During this cycle, Dr. Murphy also adjusted the type of sperm used, aiming to mitigate issues from the first attempt.
The OvaReady device identified four additional eggs in the woman’s follicular fluid, three of which developed into embryos. Intriguingly, these three included the highest quality embryos from that cycle. The couple carefully considered the risks, particularly concerning any potential impact of the device on egg health, given that no human live births had occurred from OvaReady-retrieved eggs before.
After discussions with Dr. Murphy, they decided to proceed with implanting one of these high-quality embryos. The pregnancy was healthy and full-term, and their daughter is now a “boisterous, she eats a ton, like a regular baby.”