Effectiveness in ART and Follicular monitoring

One of the highlights of the day was a presentation on ‘ART and Follicular monitoring’ by Dr Natasha Gupta, obstetrician and gynaecologist. She spoke about the role of USG Imaging, particularly how TVS can play in Antral Follicle Count (ART) and follicular monitoring with respect to in-vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer. Apart from giving out a baseline USG assessment for ART, ultrasound also assists with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis and treatment management and other adnexal/uterine pathologies like congenital uterine anomalies, fibroids, etc.

Dr Gupta also briefly talked about important fertility parameters like Antral Follicle Count, which is a great predictor of ovarian reserve, ovarian volume and ovarian blood flow. She then told the audience how the latest 3-D methods which have come up can help determine ovarian volume in much less time than the current methods and offer better reliability. Added to these advantages, these new developments also directly enhance the patient experience as they do not require the patient to be present during the entire scanning session.

Follicular monitoring, an important technique to conduct serial USG study of the ovary during the follicular phase, can be effectively done, says Dr Gupta, with the latest software with automatic analysis which helps with echogenicity of the image for precise follicle volume count. She then proceeded to differentiate a normal follicular cycle to an abnormal one via an array of ultrasound images.

Ultrasound scanning plays an important role in detecting an abnormal or unsuccessful cycle to provide an efficient IVF treatment, helping the patient avoid wastage of time and money. USG monitoring also plays a relevant, recurring role during the monitoring of induced cycles, said Dr Gupta as it helps to predict ovarian response. She then talked on how the assessment of endometrial receptivity is done by ultrasound for a non-invasive and direct assessment.

Dr Gupta also talked about various complications that may arise due to ART. Some of these are ovarian induction, egg retrieval, obstetric complications, perinatal complications and Thrombo-embolic disease.

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