Austin, Texas – July 24, 2012– Advanced reproductive technology and clinical excellence have allowed Texas Fertility Center (TFC) to help welcome over 12,000 babies into the world. Always on the forefront of new developments, TFC has become the first fertility clinic in the United States to utilize a new generation embryo microscope system. This new embryo microscope system allows TFC embryologists to continuously monitor the growth and development of human embryos using time lapse photographic technology.
“We are thrilled to bring this advanced system to the U.S.,” stated Dr. Kaylen Silverberg, a partner with TFC. “With the embryo micoscope system, we have the potential to more easily and accurately identify healthy embryos.”
Currently, embryologists must take the embryos out of their incubators to document daily embryonic development.This process exposes embryos to changes in environmental conditions. Although the disturbances seem minor, they can be detrimental to normal development.
“When you are dealing with human embryos, any disruption to the natural process can impact development,” saidTom Turner, Director of Embryology for Texas Fertility Center and Austin IVF.
The system allows embryos to be continuously observed without removing them from their ideal environmental conditions. One microscopic unit monitors an entire group of embryos, transmitting information wirelessly to the embryologist’s computer and TV monitors.
Dr. Silverberg explained the significance, “This new technology gives our embryologists the opportunity to easily document and record all moments of embryonic development.”
After validating that the new technology was not harmful to either mouse embryos or human embryos that were not developing normally, TFC began utilizing this technology to study normal embryo development. The hope is that, by identifying even the most subtle abnormalities in development as they occur, the doctors and embryologists will be able to more accurately select the best embryos to transfer back into their patients – resulting in even higher pregnancy rates with a lower rate of multiple pregnancy.
“We believe that this system may enable us to better distinguish between normal and abnormal embryonic development without having to perform an embryo biopsy, a procedure during which a single cell is actually removed from a hole created in the membrane surrounding the embryo,” said Mr. Turner. “Obviously, our goal is to identify normal developing embryos with the least risk possible.”
About Texas Fertility Center
Texas Fertility Center (TFC), one of the nation’s leading full-service infertility practices, provides advanced Infertility and Reproductive Endocrinology services to patients throughout Texas, the Southwestern United States, and the Americas. Since 1980, TFC has been recognized nationally for outstanding pregnancy rates, cutting-edge laboratory procedures, and innovative research programs. For more information, please visit www.txfertility.com.
