A new study has found that AI (artificial intelligence) is better and faster than scientists at predicting which embryos are best to use for IVF. This is welcome news for anyone looking to start or grow their family with the help of IVF or if they have a small window of opportunity to undergo the procedure. 

One example from the study is Lisa Smith, a new mother who decided to use IVF because she was between cancer treatments. She didn’t have the luxury of waiting to become pregnant naturally and may have struggled to do so due to the treatments.

Armed with that information she decided to go with IVF to become pregnant faster, based on her available timeline. When scientists pick embryos, those embryos are placed in an incubator that’s fitted with a camera. They spend five days there, and they use time-lapse technology to determine which are growing and developing the best. Now, instead of needing embryologists to do that work, AI is being used to assess and determine the same information.

The goal is to help embryologists do more in a shorter period. Using AI will improve laboratory workflow and make the entire process easier, which is extremely important when time is of the essence. It may also allow more women to get the help they need because the process won’t take up as much time and more people can be added to the schedule. The AI tool used is called iDA, and scores embryos on a 10-point scale.

The embryo with the highest grade is the one used, and the recent study looked at how iDA compared with the way an embryologist graded the embryos. While pregnancy rates were similar between human and AI selection, AI was 10 times faster at deciding which embryo was the best for the IVF procedure. With one in 18 babies being conceived through IVF now, improvements in technology will continue to raise the success rate and make it easier for more people to build their families. These rates have risen over the past 10 years, and now AI support for finding the best embryos is another step in the right direction.

If you are thinking about growing your family with the help of reproductive assistance, please contact us today. We are dedicated to drafting comprehensive surrogacy, egg, sperm and embryo donation contracts as well as timely and thorough parentage orders. No matter what your legal needs may be, we are here for you. We will carefully listen to you to create a contract and a plan to help build your family that meets your wishes and needs.