New Computer Boosts Hope For IVF

The concept of IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) is soon catching up to be one of the preferred methods for women to try and conceive. Once other methods of treatment with regards to infertility have failed, women can look to this method. IVF falls under the category of assisted reproductive technology.

A Brief Run Through -

The entire process will include aspects like hormonal controlling of the woman’s ovulation. The ova (eggs) will be removed from the woman’s ovaries and sperm will be allowed to fertilize it in a fluid medium. Once the egg is fertilized, it is transferred to the uterus of the patient, in the hope that it will culminate in a successful pregnancy.

The first successful IVF delivery happened in the year 1978.

The New Computer And How It Helps -

It was noticed that almost 90% of the women undergoing IVF treatments were being given wrong doses of drugs. The drugs are used to stimulate the ovaries into the process of producing eggs. It was seen that most women were getting high doses of the drugs which was causing unsuccessful pregnancies.

The flip-side to these high doses was that the chances of a successful conception were being cut, since it was resulting in too many eggs of reduced quality.

The Study -

Dr. Geoffrey Thaw of the Hammersmith Hospital located in West London was responsible for heading this study. The study was conducted on 161 women, who volunteered to try out the dose-calculator which could help predict the right amount of drugs that were needed to ensure that there was a smooth and successful conception.

During the study, Dr. Thaw and his team noticed that almost 75% of the women had been getting higher doses that they actually should have gotten. On the other hand, there was a small percentage of women who needed higher doses; but their need for the same had not been identified earlier.

The problem that occurred due to the high doses, in the case of the women who didn’t need it, was that it led to the production of 16-18 eggs, which were of poor quality. Dr. Thaw put the number of ideal eggs produced during an IVF procedure at 10. The poor quality eggs would automatically lead to poor quality embryos.

At the moment, the program has been created to cater to women under the age of 35.

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