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Study shows CHLOE AI’s role in advancing reproductive health research
Researchers can use Fairtility’s AI tool to further their understanding of embryo and oocyte development
Fairtility, the transparent AI innovator powering reproductive care for improved outcomes, has announced the highlights of a new study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports.
The study, focused on blastocyst morphometric parameters’ impact on implantation potential, highlights how Fairtility’s transparent AI decision support technology, CHLOE, can support academic research in the field of assisted reproductive technologies.
The study, entitled An artificial intelligence algorithm for automated blastocyst morphometric parameters demonstrates a positive association with implantation potential, was led by Professor Iris Har Vardi, director of Fertility and IVF Lab at Soroka University Medical Center and senior lecturer at Ben Gurion University in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Har Vardi also serves as a scientific advisor to Fairtility.
Automatic measurements of blastocyst morphometrics. (a) A day-5 blastocyst with trophectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass (ICM) cells. (b) The same embryo with markings. Blue represents the hand drawn segmentation around the outer part of the TE cells, excluding the area occupied by the zona pellucida. Green represents the ellipse that best fits around the segmented ICM pixels in the least-squares sense. Red represents the diameter of the embryo.
The study included 608 transferred blastocysts that were selected using morphokinetics and Gardner criteria. Retrospectively, researchers deployed CHLOE to automatically assess four morphometric parameters: blastocyst size, inner cell mass (ICM) size, ICM-to-blastocyst size ratio and ICM shape.
Researchers found that blastocyst size had a significant positive association with implantation such that with every 1 μm increase in blastocyst size, there was a relative increase in the odds of implantation by 2.1 per cent.
Applying CHLOE to assess these parameters retrospectively, was possible due to CHLOE’s advanced, consistent and automated assessment.
These capabilities enable researchers to study various events, biomarkers, timing and ratios objectively that were previously not possible, providing new insights for treatment decisions and opening up tremendous opportunity for more research to advance the field.
“CHLOE’s AI algorithms enabled us to measure various embryo components automatically with higher accuracy and speed than us, the embryologists,” explained Professor Har Vardi.
“As a researcher and a clinical embryologist, AI provides a powerful new tool and opens endless possibilities to further explore basic science and clinical parameters.
Professor Iris Har Vardi, director of Fertility and IVF Lab at Soroka University Medical Center and senior lecturer at Ben Gurion University
“This research highlights the potential for enhanced blastocyst selection in the IVF process using AI technology, which offers great promise for improving the effectiveness and personalisation of reproductive healthcare.”
Researchers can utilise CHLOE to further their understanding of embryo and oocyte development that may enhance current workflows, protocols and practice of reproductive health care.
Eran Eshed, co-founder and CEO of Fairtility, said: “Our mission at Fairtility is to advance and improve reproductive care through CHLOE, our AI powered software platform.
“We promote this in clinical settings through our product offerings and in academic settings to advance the science and understanding of reproductive health.
“We can leverage AI technologies to elevate care in clinics, and ensure researchers continue to advance our understanding to improve patient care in the long term.”
CHLOE is currently being used in tens of clinics around the world. Clinicians utilise CHLOE EQ for automated embryo quality assessment in IVF, CHLOE OQ to support oocyte assessment for fertility preservation, egg donation and in IVF decision making, and CHLOE KPI for clinical and operational performance monitoring.
Transdermal HRT best protects bone density in women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea, a condition that stops periods, a review of trials has found.
The meta-analysis pooled randomised clinical trials involving 692 participants and found transdermal hormone replacement therapy and teriparatide increased bone mineral density by between 2 and 13 per cent.
Functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea can follow anorexia or intense exercise. Bone mineral density measures bone strength and the amount of mineral in bone.
Around half of women with the condition have low bone mineral density, compared with about 1 per cent of healthy women, and their fracture risk is up to seven times higher.
The research was conducted by scientists at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
Professor Alexander Comninos, senior author of the study and consultant endocrinologist at the trust, said: “Bone density is lost very rapidly in FHA and so addressing bone health early is very important to reduce the lifelong risk of fractures.
“Our study provides much needed comparisons of all the available treatments from all available studies.
“Clearly the best treatment is to restore normal menstrual cycles and therefore oestrogen levels through various psychological, nutritional or exercise interventions – but that is not always possible.
“The foundation for bone health is good calcium and vitamin D intake (through diet and/or supplements) but we have additional treatments that are more effective.”
When FHA is diagnosed, clinicians first try to restore periods through lifestyle measures, including psychological and dietary support, but these can fail. Guidelines then recommend giving oestrogen, though the best form was unclear.
The team reviewed all prior randomised trials comparing therapies, including oral and transdermal oestrogen, and also assessed teriparatide, a prescription bone-building drug used for severe osteoporosis.
They found no significant benefit for oral contraceptive pills or oral hormone therapy.
A recent UK audit reported that about a quarter of women with anorexia-related FHA are prescribed the oral contraceptive pill for bone loss; the study suggests using transdermal therapy instead.
Comninos said: “Our goal is simple: to help women receive the right treatment sooner and to protect their bone health in the long-term.
“We hope this study provides clinicians with better evidence to choose transdermal oestrogen when prescribing oestrogen and so inform future practice guidelines.
“Right now, millions of women with FHA may not be receiving the best treatments for their bone health.”
An AI tool cut interval breast cancers by 12 per cent in a Swedish screening trial of more than 105,000 women.
The study also found 27 per cent fewer aggressive breast cancers detected at screening when AI was used.
Interval cancers are cancers found between routine screening appointments because they were missed at the original scan. They are often more dangerous and linked to higher death rates than cancers found at screening.
The MASAI trial is described as the first large randomised study to test whether AI can improve mammography screening, which uses low-dose X-rays to examine breast tissue for signs of cancer.
The AI tool, called Transpara Detection and developed by ScreenPoint Medical, supported radiologists in analysing mammography images.
Earlier results from the same trial showed that Transpara Detection increased cancers found by 29 per cent and reduced radiologist workload by 44 per cent compared with standard double-reading, where two radiologists independently review each scan.
The latest findings indicate higher accuracy with AI support. Sensitivity, the ability to detect cancer, was 6.7 percentage points higher in the AI group while specificity, the ability to rule out healthy cases, was maintained. Results were similar across age groups and breast density levels.
Women screened with AI had 16 per cent fewer invasive interval cancers and 21 per cent fewer large interval cancers than those in the standard screening group.
The system also helps doctors assess risk more precisely by subdividing suspicious findings into BI-RADS 4 categories A, B and C. BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) is a standardised scale that guides whether a patient needs closer monitoring, further tests or treatment.
Ageing anxiety may accelerate biological ageing in women, with fears about worsening health linked to faster epigenetic ageing, according to new research.
The study found that greater anxiety about growing old was associated with accelerated epigenetic ageing, as measured by the DunedinPACE clock, based on biological markers in blood samples.
Epigenetic changes are shifts in how genes are switched on or off without altering DNA itself, which can influence how the body ages and functions.
“Our research suggests that subjective experiences may be driving objective measures of ageing,” said Mariana Rodrigues, a PhD student and the first author of the study.
“Ageing-related anxiety is not merely a psychological concern, but may leave a mark on the body with real health consequences.”
Researchers analysed data from 726 women in the Midlife in the US study.
Participants were asked how much they worried about becoming less attractive with age, having more health issues and being too old to have children.
Blood samples were used to assess ageing with two epigenetic clocks: DunedinPACE, which estimates the pace of biological ageing, and GrimAge2, which estimates cumulative biological damage.
The study was conducted by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health.
Worrying about declining health showed the strongest links with epigenetic ageing, while anxiety about attractiveness and fertility was not significantly associated with biological markers.
The authors suggest health worries are more common and persist over time, whereas concerns about appearance and reproduction may fade with age.
“Women in midlife may also be multiple in roles, including caring for their ageing parents,” Rodrigues said.
“As they see older family members grow older and become sick, they may worry about whether the same thing will happen to them.”
The authors caution that the study offers a snapshot in time and other factors may influence these biological changes.
When analyses were adjusted for health behaviours such as smoking and alcohol use, the link between ageing anxiety and epigenetic ageing decreased and was no longer significant.
“Our research identifies ageing anxiety as a measurable and modifiable psychological determinant that seems to be shaping ageing biology,” said Adolfo Cuevas, associate professor of social and behavioural sciences and the study’s senior author.
They call for more research to clarify how this anxiety influences ageing over time, to guide support for those experiencing ageing anxiety.
“Ageing is a universal experience.” Rodrigues said.
“We need to start a discourse about how we as a society, through our norms, structural factors and interpersonal relationships, address the challenges of ageing.”
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