Optoelectronic Tweezers for quantitative assessment of embryo developmental stage

Successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) requires that only the top ~1-2 healthiest embryos are transferred to the uterus. The current gold standard is to select only the most developmentally advanced embryos for uterine transfer. This approach is solely qualitative and consequently has limited sensitivity and specificity. A quantitative approach, if more sensitive, would greatly improve IVF outcomes. We assess the response of mouse embryos to Optoelectronic Tweezers (OET) throughout key stages in their early development, and demonstrate that OET can serve as a means to quantitatively guide identification of the most developed (i.e. likeliest to be healthy) embryos, following IVF.