Through their co-operation the
IVF Centers Prof. Zech and
GE Healthcare – global market leader
in ultrasound technology are setting new clinical standards in ultrasound monitoring in reproductive medicine.
The scientific paper submitted for publication by the
IVF Centers Prof. Zech has been published in the renowned international
journal RBMonline (
reference).
Ultrasound scan of follicle
IVF treatment involves the stimulation of a woman’s
ovaries by a regimen of fertility drugs to trigger the development of multiple egg cells. These oocytes are maturing within the
follicles in the ovaries. During ovarian stimulation the attending gynecologist is monitoring follicle growth by ultrasound scan. This ultrasound monitoring aims at determining the
optimal time for administering human chorionic gonadotropin to induce ovulation and at assessing the most suitable time to retrieve the eggs from the ovary (
follicle puncture).
To date, only
2-D ultrasound techniques had been available to assess follicular volume which only provided an approximation of the real volume as well as the right moment for administering human chorionic gonadotropin (
hCG). In co-operation with GE Healthcare, the market leader in ultrasound technology, we performed for the first time ever, a clinical evaluation of the novel 3D-based automated volume count “SonoAVCTM” for monitoring follicle growth .
A comparative study revealed that using 3D-transvaginal ultrasound (compared to 2D ultrasound techniques) led to a significantly higher number of mature oocytes during ovarian stimulation. The study assumes that the more objective, faster, more reliable and more precise SonoAVCTM technique more closely mirrors biological reality in comparison to using conventional 2D-transvaginal ultrasound. Due to this new technique the entire treatment procedure in terms of an enhanced quality management can be optimized in order to guarantee the quality standards for IVF treatments established by the
European Union directive.
We recently presented our latest findings at Austria’s biggest congress for reproductive medicine and endocrinology (
OEGRM, Saalfelden, 2009).
It could be demonstrated once again, that
- Examination and evaluation are significantly less time consuming.
- As to volume and quantity the results obtained by SonoAVCTM are by far more precise compared to those achieved by using conventional 2D-ultrasound.
- The results are reproducible and can be compared at any time.
The most important finding, however, is reflected by the outcome: the patients monitored by SonoAVC during ovarian stimulation showed the following results:
- The number of high quality (criteria according to L. Veek) egg cells on the day of egg-retrieval increased.
- Fertilization-rate on day 1 (after IVF oder ICSI bzw. IMSI) could be consdiderably improved.
- The number of blastocysts on day 5 rose.