Pacific Fertility Center's Lab Director Presents Research on Eeva, a Groundbreaking Imaging Technique

The following appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on SFGate.com...

Pacific Fertility Center's lab is at the forefront of a novel imaging technique with the potential to improve in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. At two international scientific meetings, Lab Director Joseph Conaghan, PhD recently presented research on Eeva, a system that can help identify embryos of highest quality for transfer. With more than two decades of experience in human embryology, Dr. Conaghan is well known for his studies on embryo culture and metabolism.

SAN FRANCISCO, Califfertility specialist at Pacific Fertility Center (PFC), Joseph Conaghan, PhD recently unveiled exciting new research at two scientific meetings on a new imaging technique by Auxogyn, Inc., called Early Embryo Viability Assessment (Eeva™).

On January 3 in Liverpool, England, Dr. Conaghan presented his findings at Fertility 2013, the 8^th biennial conference of the UK Fertility Societies. “This noninvasive test represents a major step forward in our ability to assess the viability of embryos," said Dr. Conaghan. "It means we can identify which embryos are developing correctly at an earlier stage than with traditional methods.”

In addition, the Fertility Society of Australia recognized Dr. Conaghan at its 2012 Scientific Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand with the Ferring "Best Scientific Paper Award." His paper was entitled "Embryos with Good Morphology but Abnormal Cell Divisions have Significantly Lower Implantation Potential." As the winner of this award, Dr. Conaghan has been invited to give a presentation at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in London from July 7–10.

The Eeva imaging system takes photos of embryos at set intervals, tracking every cell division by stitching images together into a time-lapse video. Then computer vision software measures key parameters from these images, predicting at an early (cleavage) stage which embryos are likely to grow to an implantable (blastocyst) stage. Dr. Conaghan found that Eeva detected subtle, yet critical, differences in specific cell division timings.

These precise timelines of cell division provided more information than morphology alone, which relies on observing how the embryos look on successive days. Based on data provided by Eeva, embryos with both good morphology and normal cell division timings implanted at a rate of 53 percent. However, embryos with good morphology but abnormal cell division timings implanted at a rate of only four percent.

Eeva may help embryologists select the most viable embryo(s) to transfer for implantation and improve IVF pregnancy success rates and fertility statistics. "With further development and testing," said Dr. Conaghan, "this technique also has the potential to enable more women to have single embryo transfer, the most effective method of decreasing the multiple pregnancy rate and the risks associated with them."

About Pacific Fertility Center
Pacific Fertility Center is an international destination for male and female fertility treatment and care. It provides an extensive array of fertility treatment options ranging from intrauterine insemination (IUI), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) to cutting-edge technology such as vitrification and genetic testing of embryos. For more information: www.pacificfertilitycenter.com.

Contact:
Renee Scudder
415-249-3662

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