What is PGTai 2.0?

At Care we believe in the power of science and humanity, that’s why we are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) in our personalised treatment plans, designed for you. PGTai 2.0 is one of the treatments enhanced by AI that we may recommend, particularly if you have had unsuccessful IVF treatment before or have experienced miscarriages.

Why was my IVF treatment cycle unsuccessful?

After a cycle that did not result in a pregnancy or resulted in an early pregnancy loss, my patients will often ask me ‘why was my ivf cycle unsuccessful?’

Even though some other factors could play a part in this, a common factor is embryo aneuploidy.

What is embryo aneuploidy?

Embryo aneuploidy refers to embryos that carry the wrong number of chromosomes.

Chromosomes package our genetic material and are essentially our 'blueprint' for development.

Embryos should have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs; these are called euploid embryos. So, embryos that have more or less chromosomes are aneuploid.

Normal euploid embryos are more likely to implant and less likely to lead to a miscarriage or the birth of a baby with genetic disease.

We know that not all embryos created after an IVF cycle are euploid. The older you are when you have egg collection for IVF, the higher the proportion of aneuploid embryos you will have. It is estimated that even in your mid-thirties, 1 in 2 blastocysts will be euploid, while in your late-thirties only 1 in 3 blastocysts will be euploid.

How can we identify normal euploid embryos?

Aneuploid embryos will often look normal when assessed under the microscope. Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) tests your embryos created through IVF/ ICSI to check they have the correct amount of DNA. Identifying the normal (euploid) embryos means that we can only transfer the embryos with a real potential to lead to a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Are there any limitations of the PGT-A test?

PGT-A, like any test, is not full-proof. One of its limitations is being able to differentiate between normal and abnormal embryos due to a phenomenon called embryo mosaicism. Mosaic embryos are embryos which contain a mixture of both chromosomically normal and abnormal cells. So, as we only biopsy a few cells from each embryo, it can be difficult to predict whether they will lead to a healthy pregnancy and baby if we do not know the extent of aneuploid cells in the embryo.

Another limitation of PGT-A is that it cannot reliably detect abnormalities involving the loss or gain of an entire extra set of chromosomes, known as polyploidy. It also cannot detect small changes in chromosomes.

Why do we use artificial intelligence for PGT-A?

Embryo testing methods have evolved rapidly since the early 1990’s when PGT-A was first introduced and have become more accurate and reliable.

When embarking on your fertility journey it makes sense to use the best available technology for the best results. Artificial intelligence can boost the ability of PGT-A to make IVF more successful by identifying only the best (euploid) embryos for transfer. So, here at Care we use the updated PGTai platform (PGTai 2.0) for PGT-A.

The PGTai 2.0 platform uses two independent methods to test embryos, plus artificial intelligence to identify the embryos with the correct number of chromosomes. It is hoped that will make results more accurate and objective. Current data is supportive of this with a recent US study showing that the likelihood of having a live birth is improved with the PGTai 2.0 platform.

In addition, the PGTai 2.0 plus platform provides an even greater level of embryo testing to make results more personal, as it can tell us whether an abnormality arises from the egg or sperm. Knowing if it’s an egg or sperm problem can help concentrate efforts to improve egg or sperm quality before starting a new cycle if possible. Or, it can help with decision making when a couple opts to switch to donor eggs or donor sperm for their treatment.

Next steps - why should you consider PGT-A?

The main reasons why you might wish to consider PGT-A are: if you are age 35 or older; if you have experienced multiple pregnancy losses; or if you have had multiple unsuccessful embryo transfers.

You should then speak with your doctor about using PGT-A and the PGTai 2.0 platform which is available at CARE.