Scientists In Japan Developing Microchip Device That Seeks To 'Mimic' Womb To Improve IVF Outcomes, Boston Globe Reports

Main Category: Medical Devices
Also Included In: Fertility;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 24 Oct 2007 - 7:00 PDT

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The Boston Globe on Monday profiled Teruo Fujii of the University of Tokyo, who with his research team is developing technology that seeks to "mimic the womb" in an effort to improve in vitro fertilization outcomes. The technology, which has been tested using mouse eggs, involves positioning eggs on a microchip lined with cultured uterine tissues. Sperm cells are then added to fertilize the eggs, and the embryos over the next 48 to 72 hours are washed with "rhythmic waves of a culture fluid that helps them grow, in an attempt to stimulate what happens in the womb," according to the Globe. The embryos then are removed, and the healthy ones are implanted into the wombs of mice. Most IVF clinics prepare embryos in a Petri dish prior to implantation in the womb, the Globe reports.

Fujii earlier this year at a meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Lyon, France, reported that 60% of his experiments testing the technology among mice produced healthy embryos, compared with 52% of experiments using the standard IVF method. Forty-four percent of the microchip-grown embryos developed into healthy fetuses after implantation, compared with 40% of Petri dish-produced embryos, Fujii reported.

According to the Globe, Fujii and his colleagues are attempting to create human embryos with the technology after receiving university and government approvals in March. The technology might be available to couples attempting the procedure in five years, but it could take longer to perfect and pass safety standards, the Globe reports. "This is a new way to culture embryos in an environment that is closer to what happens inside the body," Fujii said.

According to CDC, 29% of couples who attempted IVF in 2005 gave birth, compared with 24.7% who attempted the procedure in 1998. A CDC report released in 2002 found that 10% of U.S. women of childbearing age had consulted a doctor for infertility (Guynup, Boston Globe, 10/22).

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