title: A minimally invasive methodology based on morphometric parameters for day 2 embryo quality assessment.
abstract: The risk of multiple pregnancy to maternal-fetal health can be minimized by reducing the number of embryos transferred. New tools for selecting embryos with the highest implantation potential should be developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of morphological and morphometric variables to predict implantation by analysing images of embryos. This was a retrospective study of 135 embryo photographs from 112 IVF-ICSI cycles carried out between January and March 2011. The embryos were photographed immediately before transfer using Cronus 3 software. Their images were analysed using the public program ImageJ. Significant effects (P < 0.05), and higher discriminant power to predict implantation were observed for the morphometric embryo variables compared with morphological ones. The features for successfully implanted embryos were as follows: four cells on day 2 of development; all blastomeres with circular shape (roundness factor greater than 0.9), an average zona pellucida thickness of 13 µm and an average of 17695.1 µm² for the embryo area. Embryo size, which is described by its area and the average roundness factor for each cell, provides two objective variables to consider when predicting implantation. This approach should be further investigated for its potential ability to improve embryo scoring.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Reproducción Humana, Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe de Valencia, Avenida Campanar 21, 46009 Valencia, Spain;; Departamento de Ciencia Animal, Universitat Politécnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain;
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland;
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lázaro-Ibáñez
authors.affiliation: Dpto. Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Facultad C. Biológicas, Universitat de València, 46100 Burjasot (Valencia), Spain;
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pertusa
authors.affiliation: Centro de Gestión de la Calidad y del Cambio, Universitat Politécnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain;. Electronic address: andeau@eio.upv.es.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Debón
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Reproducción Humana, Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe de Valencia, Avenida Campanar 21, 46009 Valencia, Spain;
authors.forename: Juan Vicente
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Martínez-Sanchís
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Reproducción Humana, Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe de Valencia, Avenida Campanar 21, 46009 Valencia, Spain;; Dpto de Obstetricia y Ginecología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pellicer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology*; D001757:Blastomeres / Q000502:physiology; D004477:Ectogenesis; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D010784:Photomicrography; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Image analysism embryo grading systems; Logit regression; Morphology; Morphometry; ROC curve