What is ART (Assisted reproductive Technology)

As many couples are delaying having children until later in life, those experiencing difficulty in conceiving is also on the rise. To over come these difficulties, many see the help of reproductive specialists and fertility treatment centers, to diagnose the sources of problems. For many, conventional drug therapies are tried and are successful. Others find hope in Assisted Reproductive Technology, or ART.

ART Defined
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Assisted Reproductive Technology includes all fertility treatments in which both the egg and sperm are handled. Performed under the care of specialists at fertility treatment centers, Art procedures generally include the removal of eggs from a woman’s ovaries, combining them with sperm in a laboratory and then placing them back in the woman’s body.

Typical ART Cycle

1. Documentation of cycle and ovulation
2. Beginning of GnRH agonist therapy
3. A baseline ultrasound of the pelvis
4. Gonadotropins are used to stimulate ovaries
5. Serum hormone levels monitored
6. Follicle development is closely monitored by ultrasound
7. The administration of Human chorionic gonadotropin, hCG, given as intramuscular injection
8. Transvaginal oocyte retrieval
9. Embryo is transferred
10. Progesterone supplementation begins
11. Pregnancy test administered and  patient undergoes hormonal studies
12. Patient follows up with physician for several weeks at the fertility treatment center to monitor pregnancy, or further consultation.

The ART process requires careful timing and patients are closely monitored by physicians who specialize in reproductive technologies. Medications are used to stimulate the ovaries, after which the development of the follicles, or eggs, is closely monitored through blood tests and ultrasound. These tests determine the timing of the administration of the hCG, which is critical to the proper maturation of the oocytes. Typically, oocyte retrieval is performed 34 hours after this time. The procedure is performed under the care of your physician and an anesthesiologist in the fertility treatment center. Once the oocytes are collected and semen prepared, the woman is inseminated. Once the embryo is transferred, the patient will receive progesterone supplements daily. A pregnancy test is administered around 12 days after the transfer.

ART Treatments
IVF, the process of combining the egg and sperm in a lab and fertilized eggs are transferred to the woman, is the most frequently used form of ART. Many fertility treatment centers offer other ART treatments which include:

•Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) where a single sperm is injected into an egg which is then placed in the patient’s uterus or fallopian tubes.
•Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) where collected eggs are placed with sperm in a tube then injected into the fallopian tubes for fertilization.
•Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) which combines the IVF and GIFT processes.

Treatments Not Considered ART
Not all reproductive therapies received at fertility treatment centers are considered ART. Treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), also called artificial insemination (AI), in which only the sperm is handled or therapies in which only medication is used to stimulate the production of eggs to achieve a pregnancy is not considered to be in this category.

Choosing a Fertility Treatment Center
All ART treatments are performed by endocrinologists in fertility treatment centers, specially equipped to meet the needs of reproductive medicine. Centers and physicians may differ in treatment plans and philosophies, and fertility treatment centers may vary in their success rates. Patients should consider these things in choosing a fertility treatment center.