Vietnam is one of the countries with high infertility rates in the world. According to research, the current rate of infertility in young Vietnamese couples is 7.7%, of which the rate of secondary infertility (infertility after the first pregnancy) is increasing by 15-20% each year and accounts for about 50% of infertile couples. It is worth noting that this number is increasing over the years. Statistics show that the age of infertility is getting younger and younger, causing many concerns for young couples today. Therefore, developing and optimizing infertility treatments is extremely necessary for current public health.
Among many assisted reproductive methods, In Vitro Maturation (IVM) is considered one of the most effective and advanced methods in treating infertility today in hospitals. IIVM is a method of taking immature eggs from the ovaries (not yet stimulated with hormones) to culture in a specialized environment in the laboratory. After the ovum matures, IVF can be performed as usual. This method aims to create mature egg cells to serve other reproductive support procedures. Since 2017, Vietnam has become the country that performs IVM the most and most successfully in the world, with doctors from Australia, Italy, America, Singapore… coming to study. The advantages of the IVM technique are that it is less invasive, less painful and minimizes hormone injections for the patient, helping to reduce the risk of complications and ovarian hyperstimulation. In particular, this is the ideal solution for patients who do not respond to ovarian stimulation.
However, the IVM technique still has some limitations which are the lower rate of development of the ovum and the conception rate compared to that of the immature ovum developed in the mother’s body. The reason is that the IVM process lacks repeatability and automation, and the culture environment outside the body according to the routine IVM process cannot completely imitate the dynamic environment with the interaction of cells in the body.
In this project, the research team proposes an interdisciplinary study to improve the routine IVM process using a combination of automation technology and Organ-on-a-chip technology, a very new technology trend. The Organ-on-a-chip platform creates an environment that maximally mimics the physiological environment in the human body on a biochip, creating conditions for oocyte maturation as in the mother’s body, thereby increasing maturity rate. In the first phase of the project, the research team proposed to develop a multifunctional system to automate the routine IVM process to control the environmental conditions of oocyte maturation and to analyze in real time the development process of the ovum. This is a new system with no similar commercial products that helps automate IVM processes, improve oocyte maturation rates, and minimize unwanted effects of the external environment and technician operations to the development of ovules and embryos.
In the next phase of the project, the research team will develop a biochip system to maximally recreate the environment in the body to enhance the efficiency of oocyte maturation. The results obtained from this project will provide an automated and effective platform for routine assisted reproductive techniques. At the same time, the success of the project will open up applied research directions based on basic research results in developing organ-on-a-chip platforms for assisted reproductive procedures in particular and towards solving and meeting the urgent needs of today’s society in general, not only in Vietnam but also around the world.
