Microfluidic chip finds viable eggs for IVF that doctors may have missed

Infertility affects approximately 8% to 12% of couples of reproductive age worldwide, and IVF (in vitro fertilization) is often the go-to treatment option. Typically, to increase the odds of a successful pregnancy, doctors need to retrieve as many eggs (oocytes) as possible. Current approaches to recovering eggs from follicular fluid, such as manual screening under a microscope, are not foolproof and can sometimes miss viable oocytes.

Scientists have now developed a way to find missing eggs that could bring new hope to couples seeking fertility treatment. In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers describe how they have developed a novel technology that automates the process and may improve the number of eggs recovered.

A chip to locate eggs

The team created a microfluidic device called the FIND-Chip that searches follicular fluid to find and clean eggs. Follicular fluid is guided into the chip, which contains a network of tiny channels and an array of microscopic pillars. These act like a sieve to catch the eggs while smaller waste and fluid pass through.

The system then washes the eggs with pulsing cycles of a cleaning fluid that strips away the outer layers of cells. Finally, the clean eggs are guided into a holding area inside the chip where they can be collected for fertilization.

To test the device, the team processed discarded fluid from 582 patients at four different fertility clinics. Even though the fluid had already been checked by experts and marked for disposal, the FIND-Chip recovered 583 additional eggs from 316 patients. A significant number of these eggs were healthy. In a small trial, the chip increased the patients’ treatment pool by about 10%.

In another part of the study, involving 19 participants, a live birth resulted from an implanted oocyte recovered by the FIND-Chip from a clinically discarded sample.

“The FIND-Chip’s consistent ability to recover previously undetected oocytes, which can develop into usable and viable embryos, meaningfully impacts the total reproductive potential of an IVF cycle,” commented the researchers in their paper.

Future outlook

The study was conducted by the company that developed the technology, AutoIVF, which has rebranded the system as OvaReady. Looking ahead, they want to conduct real-time trials of the chip during active treatments to measure increases in live birth rates. They are also engaging with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain clearance for OvaReady for use in fertility clinics.

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