New IVF technology helps couples conceive with 24/7 embryo monitoring

Scientist have pioneered a new method of IVF treatment that monitors the development of embryos around the clock.

Cleveland, Ohio, couple Ed and Caroline Marks are the first couple to try out the new process - and bagged themselves two beautiful baby girls. The pair struggled to conceive after they got married in 2010 and found out Ed's sperm count was way below average and Caroline had problems of her own.



'We felt like the odds were against us,' the 32-year-old woman said.



So they enlisted the help of a local IVF clinic. After six months, the Marks' doctors chose to test out a new technology called EmbryoScope that allows infertility specialists to check the development of fertilized eggs at 20 minute intervals.

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Technology: Ed and Caroline Marks have pioneered a new method of IVF treatment, which helped them get pregnant with Clare and Charlotte, pictured

Only 14 facilities in the US offer EmbryoScope, which was developed by Unisense Fertilitech and approved by the FDA in 2011. The Marks were the first couple to use the technology, which boasts a 54 per cent success rate compared to the 45 per cent for normal IVF, at Cleveland Clinic and also the first to become pregnant with it.

Standard IVF sees embryos removed from an incubator once a day so specialists can make sure they're growing as they should be.



But, using this method, researchers often miss important changes or problems and because they have to be taken out of their incubator they also risk catching nasties from the outside world.

First: Ed and Caroline Marks, pictured, were the first to use the IVF treatment at the Cleveland Clinic

Constant: The Machine, pictured, allows doctors to constantly monitor the embryos

'With the EmbryoScope, you are doing continuous imaging,' Cleveland Clinic obstetrician Dr. Nina Desai told NBC News .

'There's a lot going on behind the scenes that, if you just had a single static observation per day, you would miss.'

The machine has room for up to 12 embryos from six different patients, and it is reserved for the clinic's most severe cases. The device takes high resolution images every 20 minutes and the embryos never leave the climate controlled chambers. Improves chances: The EmbryoScope holds up to 12 embryos from six couples and takes pictures every 20 minmutes

Miracle: The Marks' are overjoyed now they have their two daughters, pictured

As such, doctors can better tell which of the fertilized eggs have a greater chance at making healthy babies. Two rival companies have created similar devices to EmbryoScope but they haven't been FDA approved yet.



EmbryoScope costs patients the same as normal IVF - around $16,000 per try.



And that cost paid off for the Ed and Caroline Marks who, at 33 and 32 respectively, gave birth to twins Clare and Charlotte in December 2012. 'It was such a journey to get to have these two babies and I think to me that's love,' Caroline told NBS News.

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