Akinrolayo Faith: Can Technology See What the Human Eye Might Miss?
Akinrolayo Faith, Junior Embryologist at Present Help Fertility Clinic, shared on LinkedIn:
”Time-lapse Imaging and AI: Can Technology See What the Human Eye Might Miss?
In the IVF laboratory, we often evaluate embryos based on what we can observe at specific points in time.
But an embryo is not static.
It is continuously changing, cleaving, compacting, forming a blastocoel, expanding, and sometimes showing developmental events that may occur between routine observations.
This is where time-lapse imaging becomes interesting.
Instead of observing an embryo only at selected time points, time-lapse systems continuously capture images of its development, allowing embryologists to review the embryo’s developmental journey.
And now, AI is taking this a step further.
AI-based systems can analyse large amounts of developmental data and identify patterns associated with embryo development, potentially helping us detect subtle characteristics that may be difficult to appreciate through conventional observation alone.
But there is an important distinction:
AI can identify patterns.
The embryologist provides the biological context.
A model may recognise that a particular developmental pattern is associated with an outcome, but an embryologist still needs to consider the complete picture, including morphology, developmental kinetics, laboratory conditions and clinical context.
From my experience in the embryology laboratory, I see AI and time-lapse technology less as a replacement for embryologists and more as additional tools for better observation and decision-making.
The future of embryology may not be human vs AI.
It may be:
Embryologist + AI + Continuous observation = better-informed decisions.
The bigger question is no longer ‘Can AI grade embryos?’
It is:
‘How do we validate AI well enough to know when its prediction should influence an embryologist’s decision?’
That is where technology, clinical evidence, and embryology expertise must meet.
Day 5 takeaway:
The more we can understand an embryo’s developmental story, not just its appearance at one moment, the more informed our assessment can become.”
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