P –160 Sibling oocytes cultured in a time-lapse versus benchtop incubator: limited exposure of embryos outside the incubator improves outcomes

AbstractStudy questionDoes the limited exposure of embryos outside the incubator, during evaluation and changeover, have an impact on the blastocyst development, blastocyst quality and euploid outcomes?Summary answerExposure of embryos outside the incubator, negatively impacts the number, quality and euploidy rate of day 5 blastocysts.What is known alreadyThe laboratory environment with its culture conditions is one of the crucial elements of the delicate equation to a successful ART outcome. It has been shown that increased fluctuations in the culture conditions have a considerable impact on the number of blastocysts obtained and cycle outcomes. Compared to conventional benchtop incubators, Time Lapse Technology (TLT) incubators capture images of the embryo and allow morphologic and morphokinetic assessment without disturbance during incubation. Several studies have been published comparing the efficiency, safety and outcome performance between conventional and TLT incubators, however, none of them explored the euploid outcomes.Study design, size, durationAn observational sibling oocyte study was performed at ART Fertility Clinics, Abu Dhabi between March 2018 and April 2020 and included data of 796 mature oocytes injected from 42 stimulation cycles. Sibling oocytes were randomly split between 2 different incubators: 12 oocytes were assigned to the twelve wells of the EmbryoscopeTM (ES) and the remaining oocytes were cultured in a conventional benchtop incubator, G185 K-Syst...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research