Spectroscopic analysis of embryo culture media for predicting reproductive potential in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization

OBJECTIVE: To predict the reproductive potential of embryos via Raman spectroscopy evaluation of the spent culture media as well as with a conventional morphologic evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women of reproductive age (n=31) who were treated for unexplained infertility and scheduled for single embryo transfer were invited to participate in this prospective study. After the embryos were removed from the culture, the spent culture media were stored at -80 °C after snap-freezing in liquid nitrogen. RESULTS: Fifteen patients were clinically pregnant, and 16 patients were clinically non-pregnant. Clinical pregnancy was predicted using Raman spectroscopy in 93% (14/15) of clinically pregnant patients, and in 62.5% (10 out of 16) of clinically non-pregnant patients. The sensitivity of the Raman spectroscopic analysis was 93% and the specificity was 62.5%. CONCLUSION: Metabolomic evaluation of spent embryo culture media is an emerging technique with promising objective results. However, there is clearly room for improvement.