Is there a link between blastomere contact surfaces of day 3 embryos and live birth rate?

Background: Cell-cell communication and adhesion are essential for the compaction process of early stage embryos. The aim of this study was to develop a non-invasive objective calculation system of embryo compaction in order to test the hypothesis that embryos with a larger mean contact surface result in a higher live birth rate compared to embryos with a lower mean contact surface.

Methods: Multilevel images of 474 embryos transferred on day 3 were evaluated by the Cellify software.