Media Release

A gentler form of IVF that can improve success rates will become more widely available after the largest Australian study into the breakthrough technology delivered promising findings.

The ‘soft touch’ technique, known as Piezo-ICSI, works by gently penetrating an egg using high-speed vibration, rather than the standard cutting action used in conventional ICSI or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.

Hundreds of babies have been born as a result of Piezo-ICSI since Monash IVF introduced the Japanese-developed technique to Australia as part of a set of clinical trials in 2019.

In the latest study, Monash IVF recruited 108 patients from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland to take part in the biggest study into Piezo-ICSI in Australia comparing Piezo-ICSI to standard ICSI.

Half of the participants’ eggs were fertilised using standard ICSI technology and the other half through PIEZO-ICSI. The type of injection used first was randomised to prevent bias.

Monash IVF Parramatta fertility specialist and researcher, Dr Jinny Foo, said the study found Piezo-ICSI resulted in a higher fertilisation rate and significantly less egg damage.

“While pregnancy and birth rates are similar for both forms of ICSI, our research has found the soft touch technique can potentially reduce the number of rounds of IVF a woman needs to conceive,” Dr Foo said.

The researchers found Piezo-ICSI resulted in a fertilisation rate of 71.6 per cent compared with 65.6 per cent for standard ICSI. The results, published in Fertility and Sterility*,also showed half as many eggs suffered damage after fertilisation with the gentler method, while the quality of the embryos produced was higher.

“We now have strong evidence from three separate trials that Piezo-ICSI can improve fertilisation success rates and hopefully help more couples and single women achieve their dreams of having a family,” Dr Foo said.

“For our fertility patients, particularly those who are older and do not have time on their side, it’s exciting to be able to offer this technology. Even one extra embryo could make the world of difference to them - it could just be the one that makes their baby dreams come true.”

The technology was recently introduced to Monash IVF’s Bondi clinic after previously being available at its Sydney CBD and Parramatta clinics. It is also available at some Monash IVF clinics in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.

The treatment can only be accessed by eligible patients who may benefit from a gentler form of ICSI via the Therapeutical Goods Administration (TGA) special access scheme. Monash IVF plans to introduce the technology into more clinics, including states where it is currently not available.

Improved fertilization, degeneration, and embryo quality rates with PIEZO–intracytoplasmic sperm injection compared with conventional intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a sibling oocyte split multicenter trial