The tiny fertility device that may help couples avoid IVF
THOUSANDS of infertile couples could be helped to have children without resorting to gruelling IVF treatment, thanks to a tiny device developed by scientists.
Doctors and engineers at the University of Southampton in the UK have created a sensor the size of a 2c coin that could diagnose the cause of unexplained infertility.
Infertility is a problem for many Irish couples, with one in six struggling to conceive. This leads to thousands of couples turning to expensive and gruelling IVF treatments in a bid to start a family.
However, estimated figures from Dr John Waterstone, medical director of the Waterstone Clinic, show that around 4,500 IVF cycles are carried out in Ireland every
year and that at least a third of cases have no diagnosis of the cause of fertility.
The Southampton team believe their new device, which is to undergo its first major NHSbacked trial next year, could plug
this gap and bring down the number of couples undergoing unnecessary IVF treatments.
The gadget monitors temperature, pH and oxygen levels in a woman’s womb – elements which have been proven to have a major
impact on fertility in lab testing.
Remarkably, until now fertility doctors have had no reliable way of investigating these factors.
The sensor, which measures just 3.8mm across, is inserted into the womb by a nurse or doctor in a matter of minutes in the same way a contraceptive coil is implanted.
It then monitors the conditions in the womb for seven days, sending data wirelessly to a small transmitter, worn on a piece of underwear, which sends the information to a smartphone or computer. Crucially, if there is a problem it is relatively simple to change the conditions of the womb with something such as aspirin.
Ying Cheong, professor of reproductive medicine at Southampton University, said: ‘If the pH levels are not in the right range there might be something wrong with the microbiome, the bacteria in the gut. It might be as simple as treating that with probiotics.
‘For oxygen levels or temperature, a vasodilator or aspirin, which increases blood flow, could be effective options.’
IVF treatment has a general success rate of between 30% and 40%, costing between €4,500 and €5,000 in Irish clinics. For most women it takes two or three IVF cycles before they become pregnant – an often gruelling process, both physically and emotionally, which involves daily injections of ovarian stimulation drugs and repeated testing.
Professor Cheong developed the device with bioelectronics engineer Professor Hywel Morgan.
They have now founded a Southampton University spin-out company, called Vivoplex Medical, to take on the development of the gadget. Comprehensive clinical trials of the tiny new scientific device are expected to start in the next few months.