Key Findings on UCSF’s EmbryoScope Implementation

• Transitioned to EmbryoScope time-lapse technology to handle growth from 2,000 to 3,000 IVF cycles and improve efficiency amid staff shortages.
• Saved 7 embryology hours daily by eliminating dish handling, optimizing workflow, and increasing staff satisfaction.
• Improved embryo evaluation precision with more data points, fewer handling errors, and less embryo exposure.
• Established groundwork for AI integration, enhanced research, and greater patient transparency via visual IVF documentation.
  

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH), one an academic fertility center performing approximately 3,000 IVF cycles annually, has successfully optimized its laboratory operations through the exclusive implementation of EmbryoScope time-lapse technology. This strategic adoption, spearheaded by Mitchell Rosen, MD, and IVF Laboratory Supervisor Philip Marsh, has dramatically improved workflow, enhanced patient care, and addressed critical growth challenges identified by the center in 2017.

Facing constraints such as limited physical space, a shortage of skilled embryologists, and the need to scale operations from 2,000 to 3,000 cycles, UCSF sought a solution to streamline its traditionally time-intensive embryo monitoring processes. Following a comprehensive trial, the EmbryoScope system was fully implemented, allowing continuous monitoring of embryo development without requiring removal from the controlled incubator environment.

The resulting efficiency improvements have been substantial. The elimination of manual handling for assessment has yielded a daily time saving of 7 embryology hours, nearly equivalent to the workload of a full-time embryologist. This efficiency allowed UCSF to restructure its daily operations, successfully transitioning embryo transfers to morning time slots, thereby significantly increasing daily transfer capacity. This shift also provided physicians greater flexibility to perform transfers for their own patients. Furthermore, operational improvements have extended staff benefits, allowing them to complete daily procedures earlier, enhancing work-life balance and job satisfaction.

Beyond workflow, the technology has transformed the precision of embryo evaluation. The time-lapse imaging provides embryologists with critical additional data points to distinguish between similarly graded blastocysts. EmbryoScope enhances the accuracy of procedures like fertilization checks by allowing review of a sequence of images rather than a single time point. Quality and safety measures have also improved dramatically, with reduced foot traffic and dish handling decreasing potential handling errors and environmental exposure (such as fluctuations in pH and temperature).

The continuous monitoring capabilities of the UCSF EmbryoScope are also driving future advancements in reproductive research at UCSF. The large database of developmental patterns being collected is laying the groundwork for the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in embryo evaluation and selection, positioning UCSF at the forefront of advancing reproductive technology. Through enhanced standardisation, streamlined documentation, and improved transparency facilitated by visual documentation for patients, UCSF demonstrates that the transition to exclusive time-lapse monitoring is a valuable investment that supports growth while maintaining clinical excellence.