New IVF product signals hope for women with fertility problems

Smiths Medical brand Wallace - a leader in IVF embryo transfer and egg retrieval – said it had worked closely with the pioneers of IVF, ensuring that their needs were factored into the design, development and manufacture of the world’s first commercially available embryo transfer catheter. The first successful IVF treatment was performed 30 years ago, leading to the birth of Louise Brown. Low egg counts, which can dramatically reduce the chance of success of IVF treatment, are becoming more commonplace in the developed world as women continue to put off having children until later in life. This latest innovation is the dual lumen oocyte retrieval needle - an egg retrieval needle which has been designed to help minimise patient discomfort and produce better results from patients with low egg yields. Smiths Medical scientists in Hythe, UK were also responsible for pioneering the world-famous SureView technology, which was the first technology to enable patients and clinicians to witness full movement of the catheter under ultrasound during transfer of the embryo into the uterus.