Embryo quality, blastocyst and ongoing pregnancy rates in oocyte donation patients whose embryos were monitored by time-lapse imaging

Purpose In the current study, our aim was to demonstrate that EmbryoScope incubation conditions is comparable to standard laboratory incubation circumstances by comparing embryo quality, development and ongoing pregnancy rates between the EmbryoScope (ES) and a standard incubator (SI). We analyzed 478 embryos from 60 couples undergoing oocyte donation were included in the study. Methods All embryos retrieved from a patient were randomly distributed in the ES or SI. We calculated blastocyst development rate, blastocyst viability and ongoing pregnancy rate for embryo transfers from ES, SI and mixed (one embryo from the ES and one from the SI). Statistical analysis was conducted by Chi square tests, considering p < 0.05 significant. Results No significant differences were found between the ES and SI from all the parameters evaluated. Conclusions Thus we concluded that time-lapse monitoring in the EmbryoScope does not impair embryo quality while allowing for morphological, spatial and temporal analysis of embryo development.