Artificial intelligence for IVF patients: first global study confirms effectiveness
Artificial intelligence for IVF patients: first global study confirms effectiveness
Sydney, [August 13, 2024]: A world-first study, published in Nature Medicine, has found deep-learning artificial intelligence (AI) is ten times faster and is just as effective as embryologists in assessing human embryos (fertilised eggs) for selection in IVF.
The three-year global study led by Australian fertility specialists and scientists from the national fertility clinic group, Virtus Health and IVF medical supplier, Vitrolife Group found that an AI-powered embryo selection software (iDAScore®) produces the same pregnancy outcomes achieved by trained embryologists using standard manual assessment, while performing the selection ten times faster.
Principal Investigator for the study Dr Peter Illingworth, a senior specialist at IVFAustralia, welcomes the results: “The artificial intelligence system does not replace the embryologists but is used as an invaluable tool to help them select the best embryo for transfer. For IVF patients, it means finding the right embryo more quickly and with a high degree of reliability. Using these new tools in the laboratory enables us to provide our patients with the best possible care.”
Until now, AI-powered embryo selection tools that are being used to support embryologists across the world have been retrospectively tested. No studies have been performed to prospectively test its effectiveness in a widespread clinical setting.
“Together with our collaborators, we’re very proud to be the first in the world to carry out a randomised trial to evaluate the embryo selection ability of a deep-learning AI compared to an embryologist manually assessing them, based on physical appearance. There is no doubt this study has huge significance, as we have witnessed first-hand at our clinics how it has improved the way we work,” says Dr Illingworth.
During an IVF cycle, embryos are grown in incubators for five days before being transferred into a woman’s uterus. Embryologists are responsible for screening and selecting the best embryo for transfer, from those that grow and develop in the lab.
There are now incubators that are fitted with built-in cameras to photograph the growing embryos every 10 minutes. Embryologists can monitor this vast amount of time-lapse imaging, looking for important physical changes and development milestones, to grade embryos, to help select the optimum embryo that is most likely to result in a pregnancy.
The AI software analyses the embryo images identifying elements associated with the highest chance of resulting in a viable pregnancy, without the potential for human bias or subjective assessment. It was developed by Virtus Health and introduced to their clinics in 2019. The software was sold to Vitrolife in 2019, the manufacturer of EmbryoScope time lapse incubators, who further developed it and created the intelligent data analysis score (iDAScore®) software.
It was important for Virtus Health to partner with Vitrolife Group, a leading manufacturer of EmbryoScope time lapse incubators who have been including the AI software in them since 2021. For the technology to be used on such a scale, high-quality evidence like a randomised global study was required, to prove AI is just as efficient as traditional embryo selection.
“Having been at the forefront of fertility research and treatment since the beginning of IVF, our continued investment in research and development ensures we are leaders in the space and can further improve patient outcomes. Ultimately, everything we do is with our patients in mind - to not only help them get pregnant but also make it happen as soon as possible,” adds Dr Illingworth.
ENDS
For media enquires please contact:
Angela Read, Virtus Health on [email protected] or 0428 448 719.
About the study:
The randomised controlled study included 1,066 participants and was carried out in 14 IVF clinics across Australia and Europe. The pre-clinical validation of this AI technology was conducted in Virtus Health clinics across Australia and Denmark from 10,638 embryos. This study found iDAScore® produced an almost ten-fold reduction in time to evaluate an embryo, 21.3+/- 18.1 seconds, compared to 208.3 +/-144.7 seconds using a standard manual assessment. The pregnancy rates in the two groups were clinically similar (46.5% in the iDAScore group and 48.2% in the embryologist’s group). The paper “Artificial intelligence vs. manual morphology-based embryo selection in IVF: a randomised, double blind, non-inferiority trial” is published in Nature Medicine. The study was supported by Vitrolife Group, the developer of iDAScore®.
About iDAScore® AI technology:
The initiation of iDAScore® development occurred after a chance meeting back in 2018 when Dr Simon Cooke, IVF Australia’s Scientific Director, was presenting at UNSW explaining the enormous challenge embryologists face when analysing vast amounts of data to manually review an embryo’s development. Final year medical student Aengus Tran was in the audience and recognised that AI could assist this data issue. After months of collaboration with Dr Tran and Virtus Health’s scientific teams, a partnership was formed and the AI software, now known as ‘IVY’ was created. IVY AI had its early promising findings published in a leading peer-reviewed journal which gained world-wide citations. The findings were published in Human Reproduction (May 2019). In April 2019 Virtus Health entered a transfer and collaboration of IVY to Swedish company Vitrolife - the manufacturer of EmbryoScope time lapse incubators. The IVY AI system has now been further developed to generate iDAScore®. Compared to the original IVY model, iDAScore used in this study was developed on ten times more data. The new version of iDAScore boasts nearly twenty times more data, which highlights the speed of innovation.
About Virtus Health:
Virtus Health Limited is the largest provider of fertility services in Australia, Ireland, Denmark as well as having a strong presence in the UK & Singapore. Virtus Health brings together leading clinicians, scientists, researchers, and support staff, offering exceptional fertility care, fertility diagnostic services, reproductive genetics and specialist day hospital services. Virtus Health fertility clinics in Australia include Melbourne IVF, IVFAustralia, Queensland Fertility Group and TasIVF. We provide important services to local communities with the support & capability of a global network. Learn more about us at virtushealth.com.au Virtus Health was the first Australian IVF provider to introduce AI-embryo selection into its clinics back in 2019.