Title | A non-invasive artificial intelligence approach for the prediction of human blastocyst ploidy: a retrospective model development and validation study. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2023 |
Authors | Barnes J, Brendel M, Gao VR, Rajendran S, Kim J, Li Q, Malmsten JE, Sierra JT, Zisimopoulos P, Sigaras A, Khosravi P, Meseguer M, Zhan Q, Rosenwaks Z, Elemento O, Zaninovic N, Hajirasouliha I |
Journal | Lancet Digit Health |
Volume | 5 |
Issue | 1 |
Pagination | e28-e40 |
Date Published | 2023 Jan |
ISSN | 2589-7500 |
Keywords | Adult, Aneuploidy, Artificial Intelligence, Blastocyst, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Ploidies, Pregnancy, Preimplantation Diagnosis, Retrospective Studies, Semen, United States, Young Adult |
Abstract | BACKGROUND: One challenge in the field of in-vitro fertilisation is the selection of the most viable embryos for transfer. Morphological quality assessment and morphokinetic analysis both have the disadvantage of intra-observer and inter-observer variability. A third method, preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), has limitations too, including its invasiveness and cost. We hypothesised that differences in aneuploid and euploid embryos that allow for model-based classification are reflected in morphology, morphokinetics, and associated clinical information. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we used machine-learning and deep-learning approaches to develop STORK-A, a non-invasive and automated method of embryo evaluation that uses artificial intelligence to predict embryo ploidy status. Our method used a dataset of 10 378 embryos that consisted of static images captured at 110 h after intracytoplasmic sperm injection, morphokinetic parameters, blastocyst morphological assessments, maternal age, and ploidy status. Independent and external datasets, Weill Cornell Medicine EmbryoScope+ (WCM-ES+; Weill Cornell Medicine Center of Reproductive Medicine, NY, USA) and IVI Valencia (IVI Valencia, Health Research Institute la Fe, Valencia, Spain) were used to test the generalisability of STORK-A and were compared measuring accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). FINDINGS: Analysis and model development included the use of 10 378 embryos, all with PGT-A results, from 1385 patients (maternal age range 21-48 years; mean age 36·98 years [SD 4·62]). STORK-A predicted aneuploid versus euploid embryos with an accuracy of 69·3% (95% CI 66·9-71·5; AUC 0·761; positive predictive value [PPV] 76·1%; negative predictive value [NPV] 62·1%) when using images, maternal age, morphokinetics, and blastocyst score. A second classification task trained to predict complex aneuploidy versus euploidy and single aneuploidy produced an accuracy of 74·0% (95% CI 71·7-76·1; AUC 0·760; PPV 54·9%; NPV 87·6%) using an image, maternal age, morphokinetic parameters, and blastocyst grade. A third classification task trained to predict complex aneuploidy versus euploidy had an accuracy of 77·6% (95% CI 75·0-80·0; AUC 0·847; PPV 76·7%; NPV 78·0%). STORK-A reported accuracies of 63·4% (AUC 0·702) on the WCM-ES+ dataset and 65·7% (AUC 0·715) on the IVI Valencia dataset, when using an image, maternal age, and morphokinetic parameters, similar to the STORK-A test dataset accuracy of 67·8% (AUC 0·737), showing generalisability. INTERPRETATION: As a proof of concept, STORK-A shows an ability to predict embryo ploidy in a non-invasive manner and shows future potential as a standardised supplementation to traditional methods of embryo selection and prioritisation for implantation or recommendation for PGT-A. FUNDING: US National Institutes of Health. |
DOI | 10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00213-8 |
Alternate Journal | Lancet Digit Health |
PubMed ID | 36543475 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC10193126 |
Grant List | P30 CA008748 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States R35 GM138152 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States TL1 TR002386 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States |