PGT vs. AI IVF

There’s no picture-perfect journey to parenthood, and there will surely be a couple of bumps in the road as you ride off into the sunset with your new baby. Sometimes, it takes multiple IVF cycles to reach your goal, and there’s no doubt that this process can be exhausting and emotionally charged. 

Embryo screening is one of many steps designed to help you maximize your chances of a successful pregnancy. Selecting the best embryos to transfer from the start can have a life-changing impact on the outcome of your IVF journey. 

Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) has traditionally been the go-to embryo screening and selection method. As AI continues to have a monumental impact on reproductive medicine, many clinics prefer AI-powered embryo screening solutions that provide a non-invasive, reliable, and transparent alternative to PGT. 

What is PGT, and how does it work?

PGT is an acronym for preimplantation genetic testing. It assesses embryos before transfer for genetic conditions or chromosomal abnormalities so that clinics can identify the embryos with the best chance of leading to a healthy pregnancy.

Here’s a rundown of how PGT works:

1. The egg is fertilized with the sperm in the lab.
2. As the selected embryos develop, they reach the cleavage stage (day 3), morula stage (day 4), and blastocyst stage (day 5 or 6). 
3. The clinic performs a biopsy at the blastocyst stage, removing a few cells (usually 5 to 10) from the outer layer (trophectoderm), which later forms the placenta.
4. Depending on the type of PGT, these cells are tested for chromosomal abnormalities or specific genetic conditions. (More on that below!).
5. You’ll wait several weeks for the results. Sometimes, clinics suggest waiting to start implantation for one or more cycles to allow the body to return to normal hormone levels while you wait for the test results.

 

The different types of PGT 

There are different types of PGT, each serving a specific purpose:

• PGT-A (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy) scans for aneuploidy (abnormal chromosome numbers) to improve implantation success. This is crucial because aneuploid embryos (those with too many or too few chromosomes) can lead to implantation failure, miscarriage, or genetic conditions like Down syndrome (trisomy 21), Turner syndrome (monosomy X), or Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18). 
• PGT-M (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Monogenic Disorders) screens for specific genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis or Huntington’s disease when there is a known risk of parents passing on this disorder to their future baby.
• PGT-SR (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Structural Rearrangements) detects structural chromosomal rearrangements, such as translocations, deletions, or inversions, that can lead to implantation failure, miscarriage, or congenital disabilities.

Source

Advantages and limitations of PGT

Advantages

• Increases chances of a healthy baby: PGT is used to identify the most viable embryos for transfer, helping you improve the chances of a successful pregnancy and reduce the risk of miscarriages and some inherited genetic conditions.  
• It screens for a wide range of abnormalities, such as missing or extra chromosomes (aneuploidy), which can lead to conditions like Down syndrome (Trisomy 21), Turner syndrome (Monosomy X), and Klinefelter syndrome (XXY). It also identifies other trisomies and structural rearrangements that may impact embryo viability.

• High accuracy: PGT is generally very accurate, with studies suggesting it exceeds 95% accuracy in detecting whole chromosomal aneuploidies. However, it sometimes misdiagnoses or gives false results, for example, when assessing mosaic embryos. Mosaic embryos have normal (euploid) and abnormal (aneuploid) cells. Inaccurate results can disrupt your IVF journey, meaning the clinic might incorrectly discard viable embryos. 

Limitations

• High costs: Many clinics offer PGT as an IVF add-on, costing between $4,000 and $7,000 on average. Keeping up with expenses for PGT, health and insurance trends, embryo storage, and more can be challenging. It’s essential to ask your clinic for a transparent IVF cost breakdown to avoid any unexpected bills.  

• Invasive: The clinic has to perform an invasive biopsy procedure on the embryo for PGT, which could damage embryos or hinder their viability for transfer. 

• Time-consuming: You could wait weeks to get your PGT results back, meaning you’ll need to freeze the embryos in the meantime if you hadn’t already planned to do so.

Source

What are AI IVF solutions, and what do they encompass?

AI’s role in reproductive medicine is growing, and AI-powered genetic screening tools are a perfect example of how technology is revolutionizing IVF experiences and outcomes for patients and clinics. AI IVF solutions use AI and automation to provide a non-invasive, reliable, and efficient alternative to traditional PGT that minimizes risks to embryos and reduces time delays. 

Example AI IVF solution

So, what does ‘AI IVF solution’ mean in the real world? Here’s an example: AIVF Genetics is a non-invasive pre-screening method that uses AI and time-lapse imaging (TLI) to assess the embryo’s genetics for integrity and quality. 

The screening stage is just one step in your IVF journey, and AI IVF solutions hold your hand the whole way. As well as making screening more understandable and transparent, AI-powered genetic screening streamlines embryo grading, selection, and communication between patients and clinics. It gives you more peace of mind that you’re doing everything possible to select the most viable embryos for transfer and maximize your chances of a successful pregnancy. 

How does AI-powered embryo screening work?

Let’s look at some techy details using AIVF’s AI model as an example. Here’s how AIVF’s AI-powered embryo screening works:

• Extensive knowledge base: AIVF’s AI model is trained on a large dataset of embryos with known genetic results. It was developed using 1,000+ embryo time-lapse video sequences and clinical metadata, which means the AI is super smart! Plus, some AI-based solutions may leverage AI test automation tools to their reliability over time, ensuring continuous improvement as new data becomes available.
• Objective and precise scoring: The tool provides each embryo with a probabilistic AI score (1-99) of euploidy likelihood. The higher the score, the higher the embryo’s likelihood of being chromosomally normal, leading to IVF success. Straightforward scoring helps you and your clinic make data-driven, informed decisions and optimize embryo selection. 

• Viable treatment option: AIVF can be used before PGT or as an alternative for those who want to avoid invasive testing. 

Source

Advantages and limitations of AI IVF

What’s great about AI IVF? Let’s take a look at some advantages and limitations. 

Advantages for clinics

• Reduces human bias: AI IVF provides objective and transparent results, which reduces the clinic’s reliance on embryologists’ expertise and subjective opinions and minimizes the risk of human bias. 

• Better decision-making: AI IVF solutions allow you to assess embryo health in real-time, making selecting the most viable embryos easier and faster. 
• Increases clinical efficiency: AI IVF solutions analyze embryos faster and more effectively, which optimizes clinical efficiency. 

Advantages for patients 

• Fewer failed cycles: Faster assessments using AI IVF solutions means your clinic can avoid transferring aneuploid embryos. This greater visibility reduces cycle delays and shortens the time until you can achieve pregnancy. 
• Higher chances of selecting viable embryos: Clear scoring makes it much simpler for you and your clinic to understand how healthy the embryos are. 
• Less stressful experience: This advanced transparency contributes to a more comfortable and stress-free IVF journey for you!

Limitations

• More limited availability: AI IVF is a transformative technology clinics adopt globally. As it’s relatively new, AI IVF isn’t as widely available as PGT, which has been one of the only options for patients for decades. 

 

PGT vs. AI IVF: Key differences

Invasive PGT	AIVF Genetics™	Feature/procedure
Yes	No	Risk to embryo
Selected	All	Embryos tested
Several weeks	On-the-spot	Test results
High	Affordable	Cost
Yes	No	Requires biopsy and embryo freezing

 

PGT vs. AI IVF: What method is right for you? 

PGT and AI IVF are not like-for-like replacements, so choosing the best pathway for you depends on various factors. It’s good laboratory practice for your clinic to discuss these methods with you before you reach the embryo screening milestone in your IVF journey. Here are some things to consider and chat about with your clinic. 

PGT

PGT is treated as the go-to option by clinics for a few patient demographics, and it’s been around for a long time. For example, women over 37 are usually offered PGT, as are patients who’ve experienced multiple miscarriages or a history of genetic disorders. 

AI IVF

AI IVF is the gold standard for patients seeking a non-invasive, faster, and more cost-effective alternative. For example, AI IVF can generate real-time screening results compared to the weeks-long wait required by PGT, so it is an excellent option for those undergoing fresh embryo transfer. 

The invasive nature of PGT can bring up a few ethical conundrums, with patients feeling concerned about the impact on embryo health and development. AI IVF is ideal for patients opting out of invasive testing and anyone who doesn’t qualify for PGT, such as those needing to avoid biopsy risks to the embryos. 

Ultimately, AI IVF provides clinics with the advanced, precise, and data-backed insights they need to make optimal embryo selection choices. 

Revolutionary patient care and outcomes with AIVF 

Every person’s journey is different, and it’s important to feel empowered when making the best decisions for you. As AI continues to positively impact the medical field, particularly IVF, you can move forward confidently, knowing that you are using objective scoring and high-quality data to inform your choices. 

AIVF is revolutionizing embryo grading and selection with AI-driven precision and a dedication to compassionate care. By eliminating the invasiveness of PGT while maintaining high utility, AIVF’s AI-powered screening provides a more patient-friendly alternative that speeds up the IVF process and increases your chances of parenthood. Find an AIVF clinic near you to discover more.