New study creates 99 percent accurate IVF predictor

Researchers in the UK have created a new means of calculating the success of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments that is said to be the most accurate prediction system ever.

University of Bristol and University of Glasgow scientists have created the statistical model based on analysis of all IVF cycles conducted between 2003 and 2007, a total of more than 144,000.

Using this data, the team has developed a calculation tool that can predict the likelihood of a live birth, based on treatment-specific factors and characteristics, with an accuracy of up to 99 percent.

This calculator is being made available for free use online and will also be converted into a smartphone application to ensure it can be widely accessed.

Debbie Lawlor, professor of epidemiology at the University of Bristol, said: "The sheer scale of the data which we analysed is the key to the accuracy of this model. The more data you look at, the more accurate the predictions become."

This comes in the same week that a study conducted by Nottingham-based Care Fertility suggested that a new soya-derived fertility treatment can greatly increase the success rate of IVF procedures.