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There’s a huge need for big data in healthcare due to rising costs in nations like the United States. The advantages of adopting and applying such in the healthcare has been to potentially said to reduce US healthcare expenditure.Below are some areas where big data is being applied in the healthcare:1) Patients Predictions For An Improved StaffingFor our first example of big data in healthcare, we will look at one classic problem that any shift manager faces: how many people do I put on staff at any given time period? If you put on too many workers, you run the risk of having unnecessary labor costs add up. Too few workers, you can have poor customer service outcomes – which can be fatal for patients in that industry.Big data is helping to solve this problem, at least at a few hospitals in Paris. A Forbes article details how four hospitals which are part of the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris have been using data from a variety of sources to come up with daily and hourly predictions of how many patients are expected to be at each hospital.One of they key data sets is 10 years’ worth of hospital admissions records, which data scientists crunched using “time series analysis” techniques. These analyses allowed the researchers to see relevant patterns in admission rates. Then, they could use machine learning to find the most accurate algorithms that predicted future admissions trends.Summing up the product of all this work, Forbes states: “The result is a web browser-based interface designed to be used by doctors, nurses and hospital administration staff – untrained in data science – to forecast visit and admission rates for the next 15 days. Extra staff can be drafted in when high numbers of visitors are expected, leading to reduced waiting times for patients and better quality of care.”2) Electronic Health Records (EHRs)It’s the most widespread application of big data in medicine. Every patient has his own digital record which includes demographics, medical history, allergies, laboratory test results etc. Records are shared via secure information systems and are available for providers from both public and private sector. Every record is comprised of one modifiable file, which means that doctors can implement changes over time with no paperwork and no danger of data replication.EHRs can also trigger warnings and reminders when a patient should get a new lab test or track prescriptions to see if a patient has been following doctors’ orders.Although EHR are a great idea, many countries still struggle to fully implement them. U.S. has made a major leap with 94% of hospitals adopting EHRs according to this HITECH research, but the EU still lags behind. However, an ambitious directive drafted by European Commission is supposed to change it: by 2020 centralized European health record system should become a reality.Kaiser Permanente is leading the way in the U.S., and could provide a model for the EU to follow. They’ve fully implemented a system called HealthConnect that shares data across all of their facilities and makes it easier to use EHRs. A McKinsey report on big data healthcare states that “The integrated system has improved outcomes in cardiovascular disease and achieved an estimated $1 billion in savings from reduced office visits and lab tests.”3) Real-Time AlertingOther examples of big data analytics in healthcare share one crucial functionality – real-time alerting. In hospitals, Clinical Decision Support (CDS) software analyzes medical data on the spot, providing health practitioners with advice as they make prescriptive decisions.However, doctors want patients to stay away from hospitals to avoid costly in-house treatments. Personal analytics devices, already trending as business intelligence buzzwords in 2016, have the potential to become part of a new strategy. Wearables will collect patients’ health data continuously and send this data to the cloud.Additionally, this information will be accessed to the database on the state of health of the general public, which will allow doctors to compare this data in socioeconomic context and modify the delivery strategies accordingly. Institutions and care managers will use sophisticated tools to monitor this massive data stream and react every time the results will be disturbing.For example, if a patient’s blood pressure increases alarmingly, the system will send an alert in real time to the doctor who will then take action to reach the patient and administer measures to lower the pressure.Another example is that of Asthmapolis, which has started to use inhalers with GPS-enabled trackers in order to identify asthma trends both on an individual level and looking at larger populations. This data is being used in conjunction with data from the CDC in order to develop better treatment plans for asthmatics.4) Enhancing Patient EngagementMany consumers – and hence, potential patients – already have an interest in smart devices that record every step they take, their heart rates, sleeping habits, etc., on a permanent basis. All this vital information can be coupled with other trackable data to identify potential health risks lurking. A chronic insomnia and an elevated heart rate can signal a risk for future heart disease for instance. Patients are directly involved in the monitoring of their own health, and incentives from health insurances can push them to lead a healthy lifestyle (e.g.: giving money back to people using smart watches).Another way to do so comes with new wearables under development, tracking specific health trends and relaying them to the cloud where physicians can monitor them. Patients suffering from asthma or blood pressure could benefit from it, and become a bit more independent and reduce unnecessary visits to the doctor.5) Prevent Opioid Abuse In The USOur fourth example of big data healthcare is tackling a serious problem in the US. Here’s a sobering fact: as of this year, overdoses from misused opioids have caused more accidental deaths in the U.S. than road accidents, which were previously the most common cause of accidental death.Analytics expert Bernard Marr writes about the problem in a Forbes article. The situation has gotten so dire that Canada has declared opioid abuse to be a “national health crisis,” and President Obama earmarked $1.1 billion dollars for developing solutions to the issue while he was in office.Once again, an application of big data analytics in healthcare might be the answer everyone is looking for: data scientists at Blue Cross Blue Shield have started working with analytics experts at Fuzzy Logix to tackle the problem. Using years of insurance and pharmacy data, Fuzzy Logix analysts have been able to identify 742 risk factors that predict with a high degree of accuracy whether someone is at risk for abusing opioids.As Blue Cross Blue Shield data scientist Brandon Cosley states in the Forbes piece: “It’s not like one thing – ‘he went to the doctor too much’ – is predictive … it’s like ‘well you hit a threshold of going to the doctor and you have certain types of conditions and you go to more than one doctor and live in a certain zip code…’ Those things add up.”To be fair, reaching out to people identified as “high risk” and preventing them from developing a drug issue is a delicate undertaking. However, this project still offers a lot of hope towards mitigating an issue which is destroying the lives of many people and costing the system a lot of money.6) Using Health Data For Informed Strategic PlanningThe use of big data in healthcare allows for strategic planning thanks to better insights into people’s motivations. Care mangers can analyze check-up results among people in different demographic groups and identify what factors discourage people from taking up treatment.University of Florida made use of Google Maps and free public health data to prepare heat maps targeted at multiple issues, such as population growth and chronic diseases. Subsequently, academics compared this data with the availability of medical services in most heated areas. The insights gleaned from this allowed them to review their delivery strategy and add more care units to most problematic areas.7) Big Data Might Just Cure CancerAnother interesting example of the use of big data in healthcare is the Cancer Moonshot program. Before the end of his second term, President Obama came up with this program that had the goal of accomplishing 10 years’ worth of progress towards curing cancer in half that time.Medical researchers can use large amounts of data on treatment plans and recovery rates of cancer patients in order to find trends and treatments that have the highest rates of success in the real world. For example, researchers can examine tumor samples in biobanks that are linked up with patient treatment records. Using this data, researchers can see things like how certain mutations and cancer proteins interact with different treatments and find trends that will lead to better patient outcomes.This data can also lead to unexpected benefits, such as finding that Desipramine, which is an anti-depressant, has the ability to help cure certain types of lung cancer.However, in order to make these kinds of insights more available, patient databases from different institutions such as hospitals, universities, and nonprofits need to be linked up. Then, for example, researchers could access patient biopsy reports from other institutions. Another potential use case would be genetically sequencing cancer tissue samples from clinical trial patients and making these data available to the wider cancer database.But, there are a lot of obstacles in the way, including:Incompatible data systems. This is perhaps the biggest technical challenge, as making these data sets able to interface with each other is quite a feat.Patient confidentiality issues. There are differing laws state by state which govern what patient information can be released with or without consent, and all of these would have to be navigated.Simply put, institutions which have put a lot of time and money into developing their own cancer dataset may not be eager to share with others, even though it could lead to a cure much more quickly.However, as an article by Fast Company states, there are precedents to navigating these types of problems: “…the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has hooked up with a half-dozen hospitals and universities to form the Undiagnosed Disease Network, which pools data on super-rare conditions (like those with just a half-dozen sufferers), for which every patient record is a treasure to researchers.”Hopefully, Obama’s panel will be able to navigate the many roadblocks in the way and accelerate progress towards curing cancer using the strength of data analytics.Exclusive Bonus Content: Boost your healthcare business with Big Data Get our guide with 5 questions you can use to increase profits!8) Predictive Analytics In HealthcareWe have already recognized predictive analytics as one of the biggest business intelligence trend two years in a row, but the potential applications reach far beyond business and much further in the future. Optum Labs, an US research collaborative, has collected EHRs of over 30 million patients to create a database for predictive analytics tools that will improve the delivery of care.The goal of healthcare business intelligence is to help doctors make data-driven decisions within seconds and improve patients’ treatment. This is particularly useful in case of patients with complex medical histories, suffering from multiple conditions. New tools would also be able to predict, for example, who is at risk of diabetes, and thereby be advised to make use of additional screenings or weight management.9) Reduce Fraud And Enhance SecuritySome studies have shown that this particular industry is 200% more likely to experience data breaches than any other industry. The reason is simple: personal data is extremely valuable and profitable on the black markets. And any breach would have dramatic consequences. With that in mind, many organizations started to use analytics to help prevent security threats by identifying changes in network traffic, or any other behavior that reflects a cyber-attack. Of course, big data has inherent security issues and many think that using it will make the organizations more vulnerable than they already are. But advances in security such as encryption technology, firewalls, anti-virus software, etc, answer that need for more security, and the benefits brought largely overtake the risks.Likewise, it can help prevent fraud and inaccurate claims in a systemic, repeatable way. Analytics help streamline the processing of insurance claims, enabling patients to get better returns on their claims and caregivers are paid faster. For instance, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said they saved over $210.7 million in frauds in just a year.10) TelemedicineTelemedicine has been present on the market for over 40 years, but only today, with the arrival of online video conferences, smartphones, wireless devices, and wearables, has it been able to come into full bloom. The term refers to delivery of remote clinical services using technology.It is used for primary consultations and initial diagnosis, remote patient monitoring, and medical education for health professionals. Some more specific uses include telesurgery – doctors can perform operations with the use of robots and high-speed real-time data delivery without physically being in the same location with a patient.Clinicians use telemedicine to provide personalized treatment plans and prevent hospitalization or re-admission. Such use of healthcare data analytics can be linked to the use of predictive analytics as seen previously. It allows clinicians to predict acute medical events in advance and prevent deterioration of patient’s conditions.By keeping patients away from hospitals, telemedicine helps to reduce costs and improve the quality of service. Patients can avoid waiting lines and doctors don’t waste time for unnecessary consultations and paperwork. Telemedicine also improves the availability of care as patients’ state can be monitored and consulted anywhere and anytime.11) Integrating Big Data With Medical ImagingMedical imaging is vital and each year in the US about 600 million imaging procedures are performed. Analyzing and storing manually these images is expensive both in terms of time and money, as radiologists need to examine each image individually, while hospitals need to store them for several years.Medical imaging provider Carestream explains how big data analytics for healthcare could change the way images are read: algorithms developed analyzing hundreds of thousands of images could identify specific patterns in the pixels and convert it into a number to help the physician with the diagnosis. They even go further, saying that it could be possible that radiologists will no longer need to look at the images, but instead analyze the outcomes of the algorithms that will inevitably study and remember more images than they could in a lifetime. This would undoubtedly impact the role of radiologists, their education and required skillset.12) A Way To Prevent Unnecessary ER VisitsSaving time, money and energy using big data analytics for healthcare is necessary. What if we told you that over the course of 3 years, one woman visited the ER more than 900 times? That situation is a reality in Oakland, California, where a woman who suffers from mental illness and substance abuse went to a variety of local hospitals on an almost daily basis.This woman’s issues were exacerbated by the lack of shared medical records between local emergency rooms, increasing the cost to taxpayers and hospitals, and making it harder for this woman to get good care. As Tracy Schrider, who coordinates the care management program at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland stated in a Kaiser Health News article:“Everybody meant well. But she was being referred to three different substance abuse clinics and two different mental health clinics, and she had two case management workers both working on housing. It was not only bad for the patient, it was also a waste of precious resources for both hospitals.”In order to prevent future situations like this from happening, Alameda county hospitals came together to create a program called PreManage ED, which shares patient records between emergency departments.This system lets ER staff know things like:If the patient they are treating has already had certain tests done at other hospitals, and what the results of those tests areIf the patient in question already has a case manager at another hospital, preventing unnecessary assignmentsWhat advice has already been given to the patient, so that a coherent message to the patient can be maintained by providersThis is another great example where the application of healthcare analytics is useful and needed. In the past, hospitals without PreManage ED would repeat tests over and over, and even if they could see that a test had been done at another hospital, they would have to go old school and request or send a long fax just to get the information they needed.How To Use Big Data In HealthcareAll in all, we’ve seen through these 12 examples of big data application in healthcare three main trends: the patients experience could improve dramatically, including quality of treatment and satisfaction; the overall health of the population should also be improved over time; and the general costs should be reduced. Let’s have a look now at a concrete example of how to use data analytics in healthcare, in a hospital for instance:**click to enlarge**This healthcare dashboard provides you with the overview needed as a hospital director or as a facility manager. Gathering in one central point all the data on every division of the hospital, the attendance, its nature, the costs incurred, etc., you have the big picture of your facility, which will be of a great help to run it smoothly.You can see here the most important metrics concerning various aspects: the number of patients that were welcomed in your facility, how long they stayed and where, how much it cost to treat them, and the average waiting time in emergency rooms. Such a holistic view helps top-management identify potential bottlenecks, spot trends and patterns over time, and in general assess the situation. This is key in order to make better-informed decisions that will improve the overall operations performance, with the goal of treating patients better and having the right staffing resources.Our List of 12 Big Data Examples In HealthcareThe industry is changing, and like any other, big data is starting to transform it – but there is still a lot of work to be done. The sector slowly adopts the new technologies that will push it into the future, helping it to make better-informed decisions, improving operations, etc. In a nutshell, here’s a short list of the examples we have gone over in this article. With healthcare data analytics, you can:Predict the daily patients income to tailor staffing accordinglyUse Electronic Health Records (EHRs)Use real-time alerting for instant careHelp in preventing opioid abuse in the USEnhance patient engagement in their own healthUse health data for a better-informed strategic planningResearch more extensively to cure cancerUse predictive analyticsReduce fraud and enhance data securityPractice telemedicineIntegrate medical imaging for an broader diagnosisPrevent unnecessary ER visitsExclusive Bonus Content: Boost your healthcare business with Big Data Get our guide with 5 questions you can use to increase profits!These 12 examples of big data in healthcare prove that the development of medical applications of data should be the apple in the eye of data science, as they have the potential to save money and most importantly, people’s lives. Already today it allows for early identification of illnesses of individual patients and socioeconomic groups and taking preventive actions because, as we all know, prevention is better than cure.12 Examples of Big Data In Healthcare That Can Save PeopleAn Introduction to Diagnosing Diseases with Patient Data

Thank you Ashutosh for asking this question,This is a question i have been trying to ask myself and specially to the people engaged in this kind of testing .we are experimenting on animals with lots of cruelty just for sake of products we consume or use either in beauty or medicinal purposes or chemicals, but why are we subjecting poor animals to such tests because we are yet to develop methods or techniques that will give the same end results for the experiments done on animal it is not that developments aren’t done or techniques haven’t been developed yet but more scopes and possibilities are yet to be discovered to save our poor creatures.To predict toxicity, corrosivity, and other safety variables as well as the effectiveness of a new product for humans, traditional testing of chemicals, consumer products, medical devices, and new drugs has involved the use of animals. But today, scientists have developed and validated alternative methods shown to lead to safer and more effective products and drugs for humans than animal testing.For example, skin corrosivity and irritation can be easily measured using three-dimensional human skin equivalent systems such as EpiDerm and SkinEthic. Additional alternatives include EpiSkin (a model of reconstructed human epithelium) and a variety of sophisticated, computer-based Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) models that predict skin corrosivity and irritation by means of correlating a new drug or chemical with its likely activity, properties, and effects with classification accuracy between 90 and 95 percent[1].SOME ALTERNATIVES TO THE USE OF ANIMALS IN TESTING INCLUDEin vitro (test tube) test methods and models based on human cell and tissue culturescomputerized patient-drug databases and virtual drug trialscomputer models and simulationsstem cell and genetic testing methodsnon-invasive imaging techniques such as MRIs and CT Scansmicrodosing (in which humans are given very low quantities of a drug to test the effects on the body on the cellular level, without affecting the whole body system)BENEFITS OF NON-ANIMAL TESTINGAlternative scientific tests are often more reliable than animal tests.For example, experiments on rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, monkeys, and baboons revealed no link between glass fibers and cancer. Only after human studies related the two did the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) label these fibers as carcinogenic. EpiDerm, an in vitro test derived from cultured human skin cells, was found to be more accurate in identifying chemical skin irritants than traditional animal tests. In comparison studies, EpiDerm correctly detected all of the test chemicals that irritate human skin, while tests on rabbits misclassified 10 out of 25 test chemicals—a full 40% error rate.The use of human tissue in toxicity testing is more accurate than the animal models.The “Lethal Dose 50” (LD50) test forces animals to ingest toxic and lethal substances to the endpoint of where 50% of the animals in the study die—and those that do not are later killed. The late Dr. Bjӧrn Ekwall (Cytotoxicology Laboratory in Sweden) developed a replacement for the LD50 test that measured toxicity at a precision rate of up to 85% accuracy compared to the LD50 rate of 61-65%. This test, far more accurate than the animal models, uses donated human tissue rather than animal. Further, the test can target toxic effects on specific human organs, whether or not the toxic substance permeates the blood barrier, and other highly sophisticated and precise information that the agonizing death of an animal of a different species would not reveal.Non-animal tests are more cost-effective, practical, and expedient.InVitro International’s Corrositex (synthetic skin) can provide a chemical corrosivity determination in as little as 3 minutes to four hours, unlike animal testing that often takes two to four weeks. DakDak, an alternative test used to measure the effectiveness of sunscreens, was reported to do in days what it takes animal studies months to do, and estimates that it can test five or six products for less than half the cost to study a single product in animals. The traditional testing of chemicals using animals can take up to five years per substance and cost millions of dollars, while non-animal alternatives can test hundreds of chemicals in a week for a fraction of the cost.Cruelty-free products are more environmentally friendly.In toxicity testing, researchers breed, test, and ultimately dispose of millions of animals as pathogenic or hazardous waste. Cruelty-free testing is less harmful to the environment or creates less waste.In 2007, the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) released a report titled “Toxicity Testing in the 21stCentury: A Vision and a Strategy,” which addressed the limitations of animal-based toxicology tests and called for a shift toward non-animal, human-based testing methods. The report was issued in response to a request from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking for the NRC to conduct a comprehensive review of toxicity testing methods. In their report, the NRC summarized that “[a]dvances in toxicogenomics, bioinformatics, systems biology, epigenetics, and computational toxicology could transform a system based on whole-animal testing to one founded primarily on in vitro methods that evaluate changes in biologic processes using cells, cell lines, or cellular components, preferable of human origin.”[2]In 2008, the EPA and the NIH’s National Toxicology Program and Chemical Genomics Center signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” to follow the NRC report’s vision and begin developing new methods of toxicity testing that involve the use of lab grown human cells instead of animals. After the EPA began evaluating 300 chemicals using the new methods, they found that it allows for thousands of chemicals to be tested at once. This method is much faster, less expensive, and does a better job of protecting human health. According to former NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, “It won’t mean that animal testing will disappear overnight, but it signals the beginning of the end.” Today, the EPA is in the process of building virtual human organs. The EPA's "virtual tissue" researchers are developing a set of computer simulations that may one day be able to identify the risks posed by common industrial pollutants such as pesticides, saving thousands of animals from horrific toxicity tests.[3]ICCVAMThe need for alternatives to the traditional use of animals in toxicity testing was officially recognized by the U.S. government in 1993 with passage of the NIH Reauthorization Act. Requirements under the Act led to the establishment of an ad hoc committee called the Interagency Coordinating Committee for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM). ICCVAM was made a permanent committee under the ICCVAM Authorization Act of 2000 and is composed of representatives from 15 U.S. federal regulatory and research agencies.Under the National Toxicology Program’s Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM), ICCVAM’s mission is “to promote the development, validation, and regulatory acceptance of new, revised, and alternative regulatory safety testing methods. Emphasis is on alternative methods that will reduce, refine (less pain and distress), and replace the use of animals in testing while maintaining and promoting scientific quality and the protection of human health, animal health, and the environmenthere are some alternative to animal testingTypes of alternativesCell culturesAlmost every type of human and animal cell can be grown in the laboratory. Scientists have even managed to coax cells to grow into 3D structures, such as miniature human organs, which can provide a more realistic way to test new therapies.Human cells have been used to create innovative little devices called ‘organs-on-chips’. These can be used instead of animals to study biological and disease processes, as well as drug metabolism. Devices have already been produced that accurately mimic the lung, heart, kidney and gut. The ultimate goal is to use these chips to create a whole ‘human-on-a-chip’.Cell cultures have been central to key developments in areas such as cancers, sepsis, kidney disease and AIDS, and are routinely used in chemical safety testing, vaccine production and drug development.Human tissuesBoth healthy and diseased tissues donated from human volunteers can provide a more relevant way of studying human biology and disease than animal testing.Human tissue can be donated from surgery (e.g. biopsies, cosmetic surgery and transplants). For example, skin and eye models made from reconstituted human skin and other tissues have been developed and are used to replace the cruel rabbit irritation tests. Companies such as Episkin, Mattek and CellSystems GmbH now produce these tests in easy to use kits for companies to use to test their cosmetics and other substances.Human tissue can also be used after a person has died (e.g. post-mortems). Post-mortem brain tissue has provided important leads to understanding brain regeneration and the effects of Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.Computer modelsWith the growing sophistication of computers, the ability to ‘model’ or replicate aspects of the human body is ever more possible.Computer models of the heart, lungs, kidneys, skin, digestive and musculoskeletal systems already exist. They can be used to conduct virtual experiments based on existing information and mathematical data.Volunteer studiesRapid advances in technology have allowed for the development of sophisticated scanning machines and recording techniques that can be used to safely study human volunteers.Brain imaging machines that can ‘see’ inside the brain can be used to monitor the progression and treatment of brain disease. They can help researchers understand the causes by comparing with healthy volunteers.An innovative technique called microdosing can also be used in volunteers to measure how very small doses of potential new drugs behave in the human body. These microdoses are radio-labelled, injected into human volunteers and measured (usually in blood samples) using a very sensitive measuring device called an accelerator mass spectrometer.Less high-tech studies for nutrition, drug addiction and pain can also be carried out on consenting humans in the interest of advancing medical science. These studies can help replace animal tests.Human medical breakthroughsWe are told that insulin therapy would not have been discovered unless animal researchers had removed the pancreas from dogs in the 1920s. But like other areas of medical research, the important clues actually came much earlier from observations of human patients.Brain surgery in Parkinson’s patients identified the best place for Deep Brain Stimulation electrodes to be placed in the brain to improve symptoms, decades before a claimed ‘discovery’ in monkeys.Alois Alzheimer first described the main features of Alzheimer’s disease in 1906 by studying brain segments from patients after they had died.Human population studies led to the discovery that smoking causes cancer. Smoking does not cause cancer in mice and rats.An Australian doctor used himself in an experiment to discover the main cause of stomach ulcers. He drank a culture of bacteria and became sick before curing his symptoms with antibiotics.A German chemist tested the effects of aspirin on himself after an accidental discovery that it helped relieve pain in a patient with toothache.The anaesthetic effect of laughing gas was discovered when someone accidentally cut their leg while under the influence of the gas. An American dentist then confirmed the effects on himself while having a tooth removed.Alternatives are betterCrude skin allergy tests in guinea pigs only predict human reactions 72% of the time. But a combination of chemistry and cell-based alternative methods has been shown to accurately predict human reactions90% of the time.The notorious Draize skin irritation test in rabbits can only predict human skin reactions 60% of the time. But using reconstituted human skin is up to 86% accurate.The standard test on pregnant rats to find out if chemicals or drugs may harm the developing baby can only detect 60% of dangerous substances. But a cell-based alternative (EST) has 100% accuracy at detecting very toxic chemicals.The cruel and unreliable shellfish toxin testing on live mice has now been fully replaced with a far superior analytical chemistry method that is better at protecting humans.here are few links for referenceAlternatives to Animals - Ethics of Medical Research with Animalshttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319016413001096

Step 1: Ovulation inductionBefore and during the in vitro fertilization process, your fertility specialist will monitor your ovaries and the timing of the egg release. The doctor will make sure that your ovaries are producing eggs, and that your hormone levels are normal, among other procedures.Most women take fertility medicines or hormones at this time to stimulate the ovaries to produce one or more eggs. Having several eggs available for IVF will increase the chances that you will get pregnant.If you cannot produce any eggs, talk to your doctor about donor eggs for the IVF process.Step 2: Egg retrievalDuring this step in the IVF process, pain medication is given to reduce any discomfort. Then a very thin needle is passed through the upper vaginal wall. With the use of vaginal ultrasound, fluid is removed from the follicles under gentle suction.Immediately after aspiration of the follicle, the oocyte (egg) is isolated from the follicular fluid. The egg is placed in a culture dish containing nutrient media and then transferred to the incubator.Step 3: FertilizationThe next step of the IVF process is the fertilization of the egg. A sperm sample is secured, either from your partner or a donor, and the most active sperm is mixed with the egg in a special chamber. Sometimes the sperm is directly injected into the egg. Then, the sperm and egg are placed in an incubator and monitored to make sure that a healthy embryo develops.Step 4: Embryo transfer and ImplantationThe final step of the IVF process is the embryo transfer. First, the embryos are examined to select the healthiest ones for transfer. To transfer the embryo(s), a speculum is placed into your vagina and the embryo(s) are transferred via a small plastic tube placed through the cervix into the uterine cavity. After the IVF process is complete, bed rest is often advised for around 24 hours.From IVF to pregnancyIn just a few weeks after undergoing the in vitro fertilization process, you are able to take a pregnancy test. Many women find out that they are pregnant after the IVF process, but others realize that the procedure did not work. Before you embark on the IVF process, look into IVF success rates for women in your age group.While the average couple may undergo 2 to 3 attempts with the IVF process before a successful pregnancy occurs, once you get pregnant, it is no different from a pregnancy established naturally. And, the IVF pregnancy is not considered high riskor-Step 1: Control Ovarian Hyperstimulation (COH)COH is done using different protocols. The most common one is a long GnRH-Agonist (Lupron) protocol where the secretion of gonadotropin hormones is suppressed in order to prevent premature ovulation. Once optimal suppression is achieved, the next step is the recruitment of multiple follicles by daily injections of gonadotropins. Ultrasound imaging and hormone assessments are used to monitor follicular development. When the lead follicles have reached the appropriate size, the final maturation of eggs is done by HCG administration. Egg retrieval is scheduled 34-36 hours after HCG injection.Step 2: Egg RetrievalOocytesEgg retrieval is performed in a surgical suite under intravenous sedation. Ovarian follicles are aspirated using a needle guided by trans-vaginal ultrasonography. Follicular fluids are scanned by the embryologist to locate all available eggs. The eggs are placed in a special media and cultured in an incubator until insemination.Step 3: Fertilization and Embryo CultureIf sperm parameters are normal, approximately 50,000 to 100,000 motile sperm are transferred to the dish containing the eggs. This is called standard insemination.The ICSI technique is utilized to fertilize mature eggs if sperm parameters are abnormal. This procedure is performed under a high-powered microscope. The embryologist picks up a single spermatozoa using a fine glass micro needle and injects it directly into the egg cytoplasm. ICSI increases the chance that fertilization will occur if the semen sample has a low sperm count and/or motility, poor morphology or poor progression. If there are no sperm in the ejaculate, sperm may be obtained via a surgical procedure. ICSI is always used to achieve fertilization if the sperm is surgically retrieved.Fertilization is assessed 16-18 hours after insemination or ICSI. The fertilized eggs are called zygotes and are cultured in a specially formulated culture medium that supports their growth. They will be assessed on the second and third day after retrieval. If sufficient numbers of embryos exhibit good growth and development, they may be selected to grow to the blastocyst stage in a specially designed culture medium. Blastocyst culture has several advantages. Embryos at this stage have a higher potential for implantation, therefore fewer embryos can be transferred on day 5 to reduce the chance of multiple pregnancies. Low numbers of embryos and poor embryo quality reduce the chances for good blastocyst development. A day 3 embryo transfer is recommended for cycles with low numbers and/or poor quality.Step 4: Embryo QualityThere are several criteria used to asses the quality of the embryo. This is especially important when trying to decide which embryos to choose for embryo transfer. Early in the morning on the day of your transfer the embryos are evaluated and photographed by the embryologist. The embryologist as well as your physician will decide based on the rate of development and appearance of the embryos, which and how many embryos are recommended to be transferred.Typically embryos are transferred at the cleavage stage (Day 3 after oocyte retrieval) or at the blastocyst stage (Day 5). In the lab a grading system is used to asses the quality of the embryos.Cleavage StageDAY 3 TRANSFERSDay three embryos are called cleavage stage embryos and have approximately 4 – 8 cells. When analyzing these embryos we not only look at the number of cells but also how symmetrical they are and whether there is any fragmentation. Fragmentation occurs when the cells divide unevenly resulting in cell-like structures which crowd the embryo. No fragmentation is preferable but some is acceptable. In our lab we classify embryos into grades 1 through 4. Grade four represents the best quality embryos:Day 5 BlastDAY 5 TRANSFERSDay 5 embryos are called blastocyst embryos. At this stage the embryos have increased in size and are even more developed. They resemble a ball of cells with fluid inside. One of the things we look for at this stage is just how expanded these embryos are. The more expanded is the better the quality of the embryo. These embryos are also classified by a number scale, 1 through 6. Grade six represents the best quality blastocyst:Step 5: Embryo TransferEmbryos are transferred on day 3 when they are at the cleavage stage (6-8 cells) or on day 5 when they have reached the blastocyst stage. Embryo transfer is a simple procedure that does not require any anesthesia. Embryos are loaded in a soft catheter and are placed in the uterine cavity through the cervix.Additional IVF ProceduresHatching BlastLaser Assisted HatchingAn embryo must hatch out of its outer membrane (zona pellucida) before implanting in the uterine wall (endometrium). Sometimes the zona is abnormally thick. Laser assisted hatching is a technique that allows a small gap in the zona pellucida to be made. This will aid the embryo in breaking out of this membrane and facilitates implantation. It is a technique that is performed prior to embryo transfer and when doing trophectoderm biopsies. Assisted hatching is specifically recommended for patients who are over 37 years of age, have diminished ovarian reserve as determined by a day 3 FSH level or have lower antral follicle counts. Patients who are poor responders to gonadotropin stimulation or have had previous failed implantation may also benefit from this procedure. Studies have shown the assisted hatching improves IVF success rates in both fresh embryo transfers and frozen embryo transfers.CryopreservationEmbryo cryopreservation (freezing) may be available to patients that have an excess number of normally fertilized embryos or high quality blastocysts that remain following embryo transfer. Embryos may be frozen at the zygote stage one day after egg retrieval or on day 5 or 6 at the blastocyst stage. Under certain circumstances, we can also freeze embryos at the cleavage stage. Embryos frozen at any stage can be stored for several years under subzero temperatures using liquid nitrogen. These embryos can be thawed and transferred to patients in a frozen embryo transfer cycle.Microsurgical Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (MESA) or Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE)Some patient’s semen samples contain no spermatozoa due to a congenital obstruction of the sperm ducts, vasectomy, failed vasectomy reversal or primary testicular failure. In these conditions, a urologist can obtain sperm surgically from the epididymis (MESA) or from the testis (TESE). This sperm can be frozen and used for fertilization by ICSI.Embryo BiopsyPreimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a procedure that is performed in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF). It is designed to help detect genetic abnormalities/ inherited genetic diseases in embryos before implantation, thereby avoiding the transfer of affected embryos.Comprehensive Chromosomal Screening (CCS)Normal human cells contain 46 chromosomes located in the nucleus of the cell. Chromosomes carry the genetic information in the form of DNA. Every human being receives 23 chromosomes from each parent. If an error occurs leading to the egg or sperm having a missing or extra chromosome, then the embryo created will also have a missing or extra chromosome. This condition is called aneuploidy. Most of the aneuploidies will not result in implantation of the embryo, but certain aneuploidies, such as trisomy 21, can implant and lead to Down’s syndrome. Some other common aneuploidies include trisomy 13, trisomy 18 and Klinefelters syndrome (XXY).Indications for PGD/CCSPGD/CCS is indicated for the patients who have a history of recurrent miscarriages, advanced maternal age (≥38 yrs.), repeated IVF failures in spite of high grade embryos, unexplained infertility, severe male factor infertility or inherited genetic disorders, e.g., cystic fibrosis, Tay Sachs disease, Myotonic dystrophy, etc. Currently, there are more than 1000 types of single gene mutations that can be diagnosed.ProcedureIn order to perform genetic testing on an embryo, several cells from the trophectoderm layer are extracted on fifth and/or sixth day of development. This procedure is called an embryo biopsy. It has been shown that removal of these cells does not impede the development of the embryo. The extracted cells are sent out for analysis to Genesis Genetics. Subsequently, the biopsied embryo is vitrified. After the results are received, patients will have the normal embryos transferred back.Benefits of PGD/CCSPatients who are carriers of single gene mutations can avoid transmitting those disorders to their offspring by testing the embryos and choosing not to transfer those which are affected or carriers.Patients who have had several miscarriages in the past can benefit from CCS for aneuploidy screening by avoiding the transfer of embryos that are aneuploid and will eventually fail to implant. The likelihood of having a trisomic pregnancy increases with advanced maternal age (>38 yrs.). CCS allows selection of normal embryos at the pre-implantation stage and reduces the chance of detecting abnormal fetal development during an aminocentesis in the second trimester. Patients who failed several IVF attempts and are known to generate good cohorts of embryos might have a high rate of aneuploidy and can benefit by CCS. Another group of patients who can benefit from CCS are those who carry translocations, which are detected by karyotyping.RisksThere are certain risks associated with any micromanipulation procedure but these are minimal and are outweighed by the benefits. Trophectoderm biopsy does require embryos to develop to the blastocyst stage before the biopsy is done. Not all couples will have embryos that develop to this stage. Occasionally, due to poor hybridization of chromosome probes results for all chromosomes are not able to be determined. This often happens when embryos are of poor quality on day 5/6 of development and exhibit extensive fragmentation. In single gene mutation analysis, if DNA material from the biopsied cells is degraded, amplification will be poor and sometimes no results can be obtained.diffrence-n a standard IVF (test tube baby) the fertilised egg in placed in the womb of the biological http://mother.In an IVF surrogate, the fertilised egg is not placed in the womb of biological mother, but in a ‘surrogate’; a woman who has agreed to bear the child either for monetary reasons or for altruistic reasons .The reasons people choose to use a surrogate are many; the biological mother may not able to bear children for medical reasons, they may not wish to undergo the stages of pregnancy, or they simply may not be female ( gay or trans couples)Finding surrogates is increasingly difficult, with main centres such as Thailand and India passing laws that prohibit surrogacy for profit or for foreign nationals. The difficultly for non-heterosexual couples and single parents are even more as very few nations allow surrogacy for such people.If anyone is interested in fertility care, A company I used to work with; Anavaraspecialises in providing information and services to international medical travellers including IVF, surrogates and other fertility care.Surrogacy - Surrogacy is an exercise in which a woman approves to become pregnant with the intent of eternally granting the baby born of that pregnancy to another person or couple, with the intent that the person or couple will parent the child.The exercise of surrogacy, whereby one woman stomachs a child for another woman, is one of the most debated events in the turf of assisted reproduction.There are two essential sorts of surrogacy. These are traditional and gestational, and has to some degree diverse design.Test Tube baby (IVF)IVF (in vitro fertilization) is the most common form for Test tube baby of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology). If the fallopian tubes are damaged or the sperm is poor, it is obviously the only acceptable treatment. It is also usually the most effective treatment for most other types of infertility as well. The eggs are fertilized in our laboratory, and the resulting embryos then are placed into the uterus 2 to 5 days later. This procedure achieves remarkable pregnancies even in women with hopelessly damaged fallopian tubes, seemingly sterile husbands, and even “unexplained” infertility. Problems with the husband’s sperm are never a serious issue, since we can fertilize the eggs with ICSI.very special Japanese freezing technique essentially assures no damage to viable embryos. Therefore, the success rate for frozen embryo transfers in our program is just as high as for “fresh” IVF.History of Test tube babyIn the mid 1800’s, scientists finally discovered that pregnancies occurred from a combination of sperm and egg. Prior to that time it was not understood why semen caused conception and what women produced that allowed for pregnancy. Shortly after that discovery, a physician named Dr. Sims at the Women’s Hospital in New York performed a fresh intrauterine insemination from the husband’s sperm. This created one pregnancy that ended in miscarriage. Fertility treatment mostly consisted of gynecological surgery at that http://time.In 1884 Dr. William Pancoast in Philadelphia performed the first donor insemination using sperm from the medical student voted “best looking” in his class. It was anonymous, and both the husband and wife were not even informed that a donor was being used until years later. Luckily, the husband was elated; however this dishonesty and lack of informed consent would not be acceptable today.THE EARLY 1900’SIn the early 1900’s much research was done on hormones and how they related to fertility. The first infertility clinic opened in 1926 in Massachusetts. In 1934 Gregory Pincus performed IVF-like research on rabbits but was fired from Harvard due to his controversial research. His top researcher Menkin was hired by Dr. Rock in New York and began human IVF research. At Columbia Hospital down the street in New York in 1951, Dr. Landrum Shattles used the Rock-Menkin protocols to duplicate the experiments. In 1965, at Baltimore’s hospital, Dr. Jones worked with Dr. Edwards of England and fertilized the first human egg in vitro. In 1968 back in England, Dr. Edwards joined Dr. Patrick Steptoe and used a Laparoscopy surgery to retrieve an egg and fertilize it in vitro (in the lab). They published the results in the journal Nature in 1969.The political opinion of IVF and governmental regulations of research were still evolving. More Americans were accepting of the concept but the Pope was adamantly opposed.THE 1970’SOn September 12, 1972 at 8 a.m., a surgery was taking place in a hospital in Brooklyn. Dr. William Sweeney retrieved five eggs from a female. The woman’s husband took the eggs in a taxi five miles across town to give them to Dr. Shettles at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. The husband then went into a collection room and produced a fresh ejaculate to be used to fertilize the eggs. By 2 p.m. the hospital chairman learned about the experiment and forbid the embryos to be transferred... (more)Difference between Surrogacy and Test Tube BabySurrogacy is a process in which an another woman carries and gives birth to a baby for the couple who want to have a child and Test Tube Baby (produced through IVF treatment) is the process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish, and then transferring the embryo to the uterus.How is Test Tube Baby distinct from Surrogacy?Test Tube Baby procedure usually done for couples who are not able to achieve the state of pregnancy. Infertility is the main reason found commonly among the couples for attaining this state and this process is one of the remedy for the infertility.Surrogacy may be appropriate if the medical condition makes it impossible or dangerous to get pregnant and to give birth. The type of medical conditions that might make surrogacy necessary for include absence or malformation of the womb, recurrent pregnancy loss and repeated in vitro fertilization (IVF) implantation failures.Why Test Tube Baby?Surrogacy may lead to some legal issues so it is advisable to seek for a counselor. It is quite difficult to determine the success rate similar to Test Tube Baby (IVF) process.According to my research, there are more than 3000 IVF centres across India . If you are considering IVF treatment in India you should have a little information about the following.Steps Involved in Test Tube Baby:-a) Mother is given injections to produce multiple eggs.b) With the help of operation, mother’s eggs are extracted outside her body.c) Father’s sperm is collected and combined with mother’s eggs in lab.d) After 3–4 days Embryos is formed with the combination of sperm & egg.e) In mother’s womb 1–3 Embryos is transferred back.Steps Involved in Surrogacy:-a) Steps a-d are same as IVF.e) 1–3 eggs are transferred into other woman’s womb known as “Surrogate”f) Surrogate mother raises your baby in her womb (rented womb) for 9 months.g) And when baby is born it is handover to intended parents.Test Tube Baby Centre in IndiaThis is a clinic which will have the complete infrastructure to diagnose and execute procedures for infertility treatments like ivf, iui, frozen embryo transfer and others. But they need not provide baby delivery support and may refer you to a hospital or maternity home in India, for delivery http://purpose.To find good Test Tube Baby Centre in India (IVF clinics in India), click on the following link:Test Tube Baby Centers in India.How to select the best Test Tube Baby Specialist (IVF specialist) in India?You have to understand that the success of ivf treatment (infertility treatment) depends on various factors like age of female partner, quality of eggs, quality of sperm, quality of uterus, pregnancy complications, delivery http://complications.So to help decide which is the best IVF centre in India for you, ask the following questions to your IVF specialist:1. What is the number of live deliveries you have done for women of my age and my fertility profile (i.e. quality of my eggs and my uterus)2. What were the number of attempts required for women of my age and my fertility profile to deliver a live babyWhile interacting with the ivf doctors, ivf clinics and ivf hospitals it is important to focus on the term "Live birth" and not on "pregnancy" or "clinical pregnancy" as there are chances that pregnancy or clinical pregnancy may not lead to live birth (which is your main objective)What is the cost involved for Test Tube Baby process?The IVF cost in India can ranges between Rs 2 Lacs - Rs. 4 Lacs (USD 3000 to USD 4000) depending on the clinic or hospital terms. However if a patient requires advanced technological assistance in IVF, the cost can go much higher. For instance, an additional Rs. 1, 50,000 to Rs. 2, 50,000($2200-$3600 approx) for an ICSI treatment. An FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) procedure will cost patients about Rs. 1, 20,000($1800 approx) apart from the IVF cost in hosting.India.to have a better understanding about Test Tube Baby (IVF) procedure please check the videoHave tried my best to share a clear and relevant information. Will conclude by giving my best wishes to any couple planning to opt for Test Tube Baby (IVF) http://procedure.To get more information onIVF centers in Delhi click hereIVF centers in Mumbai click hereIVF centers in Bangalore click hereIVF centers in Chennai click hereIVF centers in Pune click hereconclusion-Surrogacy: Surrogacy is the concept when instead of the biological mother, the baby is carried by some other women in her womb. When a women in unable to conceive and her uterus fails to get the embryo implanted, then the embryo formed by IVF is transferred to a womb other than the mother’s womb where it is nurtured and grown into a baby.Test Tube Baby: Test tube is the concept where the sperms are eggs are fused outside of the female body in a laboratory under controlled conditions and the resulting embryo is transferred to the mother’s body for implantation to take place. This is done when the conception is hindered due to various reasons contributing to male/ female infertility.