Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) encompasses all fertility treatments in which eggs and sperm are handled outside the human body. Over the past four decades, technological advancements have significantly increased clinical pregnancy rates.
1. Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
The simplest ART intervention, IUI involves processing and concentrating motile spermatozoa from the male partner or donor and directly instilling them into the uterine cavity using a soft catheter around the time of spontaneous or induced ovulation.
2. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
Conventional IVF involves retrieving mature oocytes from stimulated ovaries and incubating them overnight in a microdrop culture dish with approximately 50,000 to 100,000 washed motile sperm per egg. Fertilization occurs naturally via penetration of the cumulus-corona cell complex.
3. Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
Developed specifically for severe male factor infertility (such as severe oligozoospermia, asthenozoospermia, or surgically retrieved testicular sperm), ICSI involves the mechanical selection, immobilization, and direct micro-injection of a single sperm cell into the cytoplasm of a mature Metaphase-II oocyte.
4. Extended Blastocyst Culture & Vitrification
Advances in sequential culture media allow embryos to develop until Day 5 or 6 (Blastocyst stage), matching natural physiological timing for uterine arrival and enabling higher single embryo transfer (eSET) success rates. Ultra-rapid vitrification allows unutilized viable blastocysts to be frozen indefinitely with over 95% survival rates.