Researchers from universities in Scotland and England say that they have developed a new, highly accurate assessment for couples hoping to have a child through in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
The experimental model, which was created by Scott Nelson from the University of Glasgow in Scotland and Debbie Lawlor from the University of Bristol in England, is currently available online and will soon be released as a smartphone app as well. The prediction model is also discussed in a paper published this week by the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine.
The new IVF prediction model “provides a more accurate and contemporary assessment of likely outcomes after IVF than a previously established model, partly because the new model includes intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes,” the PLoS said in a Tuesday press release.
According to an article by Kate Kelland of Reuters, Nelson and Lawlor studied more than 144,000 IVF cycles while preparing their prediction model, and using those statistics they can reportedly give a 99% accurate prediction of live birth.
“However, before this new prediction model can be used to guide clinical decisions globally and be used to counsel patients outwith the UK, it needs to be validated using independent IVF data,” the PLoS study said, which is the reason that the tool is currently available for use, free of charge, at www.ivfpredict.com and in the forthcoming IVFpredict application for Apple’s iPhone and Android devices.
The formula developed by Nelson and Lawlor “takes into account the woman’s age, number of years trying to get pregnant, whether she is using her own eggs, the cause of infertility, the number of previous IVF cycles and whether she has previously been pregnant or had a baby,” Kelland added in her January 4 article.
—
On the Net:
Comments