Intermediately sized follicles are most important to number of mature oocytes subsequently retrieved
TUESDAY, Jan. 28, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial intelligence (AI) techniques indicate that intermediately sized follicles are most important to the number of mature oocytes subsequently retrieved and could be used to optimize IVF treatment, according to a study published online Jan. 8 in Nature Communications.
Simon Hanassab, from Imperial College London, and colleagues conducted a multicenter study involving 19,082 treatment-naive female patients from 11 European IVF centers. Explainable AI was harnessed to identify the contribution of follicle sizes to relevant downstream clinical outcomes.
The researchers found that intermediately sized follicles were most important to the number of mature oocytes that were retrieved. The proportion of follicles within 13 to 18 mm was positively associated with the live birth rate (odds ratio, 1.03; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.06) when adjusting for age, total follicle count, and type of trigger administered.
“Our study has shown that AI methods are well suited to analyzing complex IVF data,” coauthor Ali Abbara, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., also from Imperial College London, said in a statement. “In future, AI could be used to provide accurate recommendations to improve decision-making and aid in personalization of treatment, so that we can give each couple the very best possible chance of having a baby.”
Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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