PROCEDURES
In vitro fertilization begins with ovarian stimulation. After the eggs are retrieved in the operating room, they are fertilized in the laboratory. To do this, the embryologist places approximately 100,000 previously selected and prepared sperm in contact with each of the oocytes and allows fertilization to occur spontaneously. Oocytes and sperm are incubated in the culture medium inside the incubator, which has a controlled environment in terms of temperature, humidity, and oxygen.
The next day, the oocytes are checked to see if they have been fertilized.
The embryos can be kept in the laboratory for up to 5, 6, or 7 days, with their evolution being monitored periodically.
In cases where there are few sperm and low motility, the ICSI (intracytoplasmic injection) technique is performed:
This technique consists of introducing a sperm into the oocyte by microinjection.
The microinjected oocytes are incubated in the culture medium inside the incubator, which has a controlled environment in terms of temperature, humidity, and oxygen.
The embryos can be kept for up to 5, 6, or 7 days in the laboratory, with their development being monitored periodically.
This is a technique that allows women to preserve their fertility for the future. It consists of a procedure in which the eggs are extracted, frozen (vitrified), and stored for later use when the time comes. It allows the patient's oocytes to be preserved in liquid nitrogen (-196°C) for an indefinite period of time.
Vitrification is an assisted reproduction technique performed in the laboratory that allows the patient's embryos to be preserved in liquid nitrogen (-196°C) for an indefinite period of time.
It is a type of ultra-rapid freezing. Its complexity lies in the fact that it must be done within very short time frames in which the embryos are dehydrated, passing from one medium to another with an increasing concentration of cryoprotectants, and then carefully placing the embryos on the support (straw) for freezing. The straw containing the embryos is placed in a small cuvette with liquid nitrogen. The cap or cover is placed on the straw, taking care not to remove it from the liquid nitrogen vapors. Finally, the straw loaded with the embryos is stored in the liquid nitrogen tank for preservation.
In order to carry out the vitrification process successfully, the laboratory staff must be highly experienced.
The embryo thawing process is faster than embryo cryopreservation. The straw containing the embryos must be removed from the liquid nitrogen, the cap removed, and the straw placed directly into a culture medium at 37°C.
The embryos will slowly detach from the straw inside the culture medium. The embryos are then passed through several media with decreasing concentrations of cryoprotectants. This achieves cell rehydration. It is very important to follow the embryo thawing protocol times correctly, as otherwise the cell structures of the embryo could be damaged.
This is a complementary technique that can be performed on embryos obtained during in vitro fertilization treatment at the time of transfer.
This procedure involves making a small hole in the zona pellucida of the embryo in order to facilitate the exit of the expanded blastocyst, a phenomenon known as "hatching," thereby improving implantation rates in the woman's uterus.
This procedure can be performed mechanically, chemically, or using a laser.
This procedure is used in cases of preimplantation genetic testing, where it is necessary to take a sample (biopsy) of the blastocyst cells (embryo developed on the 5th, 6th, or 7th day) in order to obtain genetic information about the embryo before it is transferred to the uterus.
To perform the biopsy, a hole is made in the zona pellucida (ZP) (outer shell) of the embryo using laser pulses.
Next, between 3-5 cells are obtained from the embryo by aspiration and are then analyzed in molecular biology and genetics laboratories.
This is a minor surgical procedure that involves removing tissue from the testicles for examination in a laboratory. Its purpose is to detect the presence or absence of sperm and also allows the testicular tissue to be studied.
A testicular biopsy can determine whether sperm production is occurring normally in the testicle and identify possible pathologies, which may be obstructive (if the seminal ducts that allow semen to be released are blocked) or secretory (if sperm production does not occur or the sperm do not complete their maturation process).
A testicular biopsy is performed to find the cause of male infertility when a semen analysis shows abnormal results. This technique is recommended in cases of azoospermia, oligospermia, and severe alterations in semen quality.
It is also indicated in cases of obstruction of the seminal tract, which can have various causes:
- Absence of vas deferens.
- Cystic fibrosis.
- Infections.
- Vasectomy.
This software is used to evaluate embryo viability based on an extensive embryo database. The algorithm detects and analyzes subtle visual, morphological, morphokinetic, and developmental attributes of each embryo and relates them to its implantation capacity.
It focuses on the analysis of data and images of embryonic development that facilitate decision-making in the assisted reproduction laboratory, allowing the selection of the best embryos for transfer to the uterus and reducing the subjectivity inherent in any human decision.
VIOLETA: software based on Artificial Intelligence that evaluates 2D images of fresh oocytes obtained through assisted reproduction—detecting characteristics invisible to the human eye—and produces a report that allows the probability of blastocyst formation for each oocyte to be predicted.
The Violeta Report fills the gap that existed regarding the quality of oocytes based on their images, understanding the crucial role that oocyte quality plays in achieving pregnancy. It is used to measure the quality of the eggs and obtain an objective view of the probability of successful fertilization and blastocyst development, in order to guide cryopreservation cycles.
This is combined with statistical models to predict the probability of a live birth, which may yield a lower, equal, or higher result.
MAGENTA: is artificial intelligence software that provides personalized egg quality scores that correlate with the probability of each egg forming a blastocyst.
This information helps the patient and physician understand how the quality of each oocyte influences the results of the cycle.
