Morphokinetic features in human embryos: Analysis by our original high-resolution time-lapse cinematography-Summary of the past two decades.

Abstract

The pioneering work by Dr. Payne etal. in time-lapse cinematography for observation of the morphokinetic features of human embryos inspired us to develop a new invitro culture system with high-resolution time-lapse cinematography (hR-TLC) back in 2001. This invitro culture system was capable of maintaining stable culture and was constructed on an inverted microscope stage. Embryos were observed and photographed noninvasively for an extended period, up to 7 days. The obtained images were displayed at a speed of 30 frames per second and individually analyzed. Using hR-TLC, human fertilization and subsequent embryonic development were visualized, revealing the time course of phenomena and many unusual dynamics. In this review, we summarize the results of our hR-TLC analysis of early human embryonic development over the past 20 years. In the near future, it is expected that the vast amount of information obtained by hR-TLC will be integrated into the AI system for further analysis and to provide feedback that will have the potential to improve clinical practice. In the era of SDGs and environmental awareness, we should be cautious about the direction in which AI can be utilized to avoid any further harm to the planet.