Do we still need embryologists?

Abstract

IVF has given scientists a unique role, one probably unparalleled in other medical disciplines. This role has become increasingly more impactful due to the introduction of breakthrough laboratory interventions, such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection and cryopreservation. More recently, incessant advances in automation, information technology and artificial intelligence have started to transform diverse biomedical disciplines. In IVF, relevant examples are novel equipment that can automatically perform embryo assessment, patient/sample identification, vitrification and sperm manipulation/selection/analysis. This has questioned the role of the embryologist. However, the introduction of novel technology is not straightforward; it generates numerous challenges. Which manual interventions should be automated and why? Do machines perform better than humans? Does automation involve higher treatment costs? At the same time, certain highly intellectual activities, such as the integration of novel categories of data and their interpretation, formulation of novel key performance indicators, generation of novel educational and training contents and enhancement and collaborative research, remain human prerogatives. Therefore, while it is to be expected that direct human intervention will be partly replaced by automated devices, we can envisage that the embryologist's role will not become extinct, but will evolve in new forms. Ideally, this change should be guided by principles safeguarding the ethics of medicine and human activity.