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Use of imaging software for assessment of the associations among zona pellucida thickness variation, assisted hatching, and implantation of day 3 embryos

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to determine if zona pellucida thickness variation (ZPTV) is associated with implantation and if this relationship changes with use of assisted hatching (AH).

Methods

Day 3 embryos from single or double embryo transfers (DETs) performed between 2014 and 2016 were included. ZPTV was assessed by examining photographs taken before transfer using an automated image processing platform to segment the zona pellucida (ZP) with an active contour technique. One hundred points were obtained of ZP thickness (ZPT) of each embryo to calculate ZPTV ([maximum ZPT–mean ZPT]/mean ZPT). Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of implantation by tertile of ZPTV. Maternal age and AH were adjusted for a priori. Other cycle and embryo characteristics were adjusted for if they altered the continuous effect estimate by >10%.

Results

There was no statistically significant association between ZPTV and implantation across tertiles although embryos with greater ZPTV showed a trend of decreased implantation (Tertile 2 (T2) versus Tertile 1 (T1), OR = 0.80, CI = 0.50–1.28; Tertile 3 (T3) versus Tertile 1 (T3), OR = 0.75, CI = 0.47–1.20). While similar nonsignificant trends for the association between ZPTV and implantation were observed across tertiles after stratification of embryos hatched or not, embryos with the greatest ZPTV had slightly higher odds for implantation when AH was utilized (T3 vs. T1: with AH, OR = 0.89, CI = 0.49–1.62; without AH, OR = 0.61, 0.29–1.27).

Conclusion

ZPTV was not associated with implantation after day 3 transfer. This finding did not vary by use of AH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Erin I. Lewis, Leslie V. Farland, Stacey A. Missmer & Catherine Racowsky

  2. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Reza Farhadifar & Daniel J. Needleman

  3. Flatiron Institute, Center for Computational Biology, 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY, 10011, USA

    Reza Farhadifar

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Leslie V. Farland & Stacey A. Missmer

Authors
  1. Erin I. Lewis
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  2. Reza Farhadifar
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  3. Leslie V. Farland
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  4. Daniel J. Needleman
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  5. Stacey A. Missmer
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  6. Catherine Racowsky
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erin I. Lewis.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This study was partially funded by the New England Fertility Society REI Fellow Research grant supported by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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Lewis, E.I., Farhadifar, R., Farland, L.V. et al. Use of imaging software for assessment of the associations among zona pellucida thickness variation, assisted hatching, and implantation of day 3 embryos. J Assist Reprod Genet 34, 1261–1269 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-0978-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-0978-3

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