There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
To investigate the predictive value of quantitative measurements of blastocyst morphology
on subsequent implantation rates after transfer.
Prospective observational study.
Private assisted reproductive technology center.
One hundred seventy-four IVF patients receiving transfers of expanded blastocyst-stage
embryos on day 5 (n = 112) or day 6 (n = 62) after oocyte retrieval.
None.
Blastocyst diameter, number of trophectoderm cells, inner cell mass (ICM) size, ICM
shape, and implantation and pregnancy rates.
Blastocyst diameter and trophectoderm cell numbers were unrelated to implantation
rates. Day 5 expanded blastocysts with ICMs of >4,500 microm(2) implanted at a higher
rate than did those with smaller ICMs (55% vs. 31%). Day 5 expanded blastocysts with
slightly oval ICMs implanted at a higher rate (58%) compared with those with either
rounder ICMs (7%) or more elongated ICMs (33%). Implantation rates were highest (71%)
for embryos with both optimal ICM size and shape. Pregnancy rates were higher for
day 5 transfers of optimally shaped ICMs compared with day 5 transfers of optimally
sized ICMs.
Quantitative measurements of the inner cell mass are highly indicative of blastocyst
implantation potential. Blastocysts with relatively large and/or slightly oval ICMs
are more likely to implant than other blastocysts.