The test, known as pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), is designed to screen embryos before implantation.
When abnormalities were detected, the embryo may be deemed inviable and discarded, so patients may undergo another cycle of treatment, which can be costly.
But new research, external suggested that some of the abnormalities detected by the tests may not be relevant to the embryo’s viability.
Looking to better understand the development of the embryo at its early stage, Cambridge researchers and the Francis Crick Institute developed a new, state-of-the-art method to watch embryos live in high resolution.
It used fluorescent tagging to track cell division in 3D.
Abnormalities arise at a relatively late stage of the embryo’s development and appear in the outer layer of the blastocyst.
The blastocyst develops into the placenta, and it is from this layer that biopsies were taken for pre-genetic testing.
