3D Printing Brings New Hope to IVF with Custom Embryo Dishes

Researchers are using 3D printing to make special molds for dishes that help grow embryos during in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. These dishes, known as well-of-the-well (WOW), include tiny wells of different shapes that better support embryo growth, potentially increasing the chances of successful IVF treatments.

Using a 3D printer from B9Creations, a team of investigators from Vanderbilt University and the Tennessee Fertility Institute designed molds that allowed them to create these WOW dishes in a way that is cheaper and faster than traditional methods. In tests with mouse embryos, the dishes with a hemispherical well shape helped the embryos develop better than those grown in standard IVF dishes.

Options for embryo culture: (a) Embryos cultured in a WOW dish and (b) Embryos cultured in an IVF dish. Image courtesy of Vanderbilt University.

IVF is a delicate process, with success rates still below 33% in humans. As the demand for better outcomes increases, researchers and doctors constantly seek new techniques to improve embryo culture—the stage where embryos are grown and nurtured outside the body before implantation. One of the more promising innovations in this space is the WOW culture system. It offers a new way to house individual embryos during the early stages of their development.

Unlike traditional embryo dishes where embryos share the same drop of culture media—a nutrient-rich solution that supports their growth—the WOW system gives each embryo its own small “microwell.” These microwells keep the embryos separate, but they still have access to a larger “macrowell” that holds shared culture media and oil.

This setup helps embryos grow with fewer disruptions and better access to the nutrients they need. Researchers found that the shape and size of these microwells can make a big difference in how well the embryos develop, and customizing the microwell shapes in the WOW system could improve their health even more.

In their report published in Nature, the team explains how 3D printing was key to their innovation. They used B9Creations’ digital light projection (DLP) 3D printer to create molds. Once they had the molds, they poured a soft material called poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) into them. After the PDMS hardens inside the 3D printed mold, they take it out. This hardened piece is what is called the WOW insert. It has those tiny wells or pockets for the embryos. These inserts are then attached to regular IVF dishes to complete the whole setup. This new dish, with the WOW insert inside, is what helps the embryos grow better.

Process to fabricate a WOW dish. Image courtesy of Vanderbilt University.

One of the most exciting discoveries was that the shape of the microwell plays a huge role in embryo development. The researchers tested a variety of well shapes, including hemispherical, pyramidal, and truncated cone designs, and found that embryos grown in hemispherical microwells showed the highest quality results. The hemispherical shape more closely mimics the natural environment of the embryo, giving it a better chance to thrive.

These results were measured by how well the embryos developed into blastocysts, an important stage that helps doctors predict the chances of a successful pregnancy. Moreover, this finding opens the door to more research on optimizing microwell design for even better outcomes in human IVF treatments.

Overlays of OCT microwell images include (a) hemispherical microwells, (b) large truncated conical microwells, (c) pyramidal microwells, and (d) small truncated conical microwells. Image courtesy of Vanderbilt University.

Being able to test different microwell shapes quickly is possible because 3D printing is so flexible. Traditional WOW dishes are produced using methods like polystyrene mold injection, where liquid plastic is injected into a mold to form the dish. This process is expensive and hard to customize because each mold is made for one specific shape, making it difficult to change or test new designs.

By using 3D printing, the researchers could quickly and cheaply iterate their designs, producing molds that cost as little as $60 to print and inserts that cost just 77 cents each. This low-cost process could make the WOW system more accessible to fertility clinics worldwide.

The researchers not only showed that their WOW dishes worked well, but they also compared them to those made using traditional methods. The study revealed that the 3D printed WOW dishes, especially those with hemispherical microwells, outperformed the commercially available alternatives in terms of embryo quality.

Blastocyst rates of embryos cultured in WOW dishes with hemispherical (H), pyramidal (P), and truncated conical (TC) microwell shapes compared to those cultured in IVF dishes (I). Image courtesy of Vanderbilt University.

What’s more, the WOW system also stands out for its reusability. The 3D printed molds used to make the WOW inserts were tested, and researchers found they could be reused many times without losing quality. This lowers the cost and effort of making these dishes, becoming more attractive to fertility clinics looking for affordable options.

Medical applications have long been one of the main verticals for 3D printing. It’s already used to produce plenty of applications, from customized implants to surgical tools. Now, with the WOW system, 3D printing is breaking into IVF treatments, proving just how adaptable the technology can be.