Investigating Micro-Manipulation Procedures for Assisted Hatching Timing (IMPACT)

June 1, 2026 updated by: Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey

The IMPACT Trial: Investigating Micro-Manipulation Procedures for Assisted Hatching Timing

This study aims to assess the clinical significance of cleavage stage (Day 3) assisted hatching compared to assisted hatching at the blastocyst stage (Day 5,6,7) of embryo development at the time of trophectoderm (TE) biopsy for patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) for treatment of their infertility.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The proposed study aims to perform a split cohort study where each patient's cohort of fertilized zygotes, (two pronuclei or 2PNs) is split into two groups and randomized, thus allowing each patient to serve as their own control and decreasing confounding variables. Half of the cohort will proceed with the current standard of day 3 or cleavage assisted hatching and the other half of the cohort will receive the sequential hatching and trophectoderm biopsy procedure at the blastocyst stage of embryo development.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
75

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New Jersey
      • Marlton, New Jersey, United States, 08053
        • Recruiting
        • Reproductive Medicine Associates of new Jersey
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jason Fransiak, MD
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Kevin Lambrese, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria for participants:

  1. Patients undergoing an IVF cycle with plan for subsequent FET of a single euploid embryo
  2. <4 2PNs prior to randomization
  3. Female partners age <42 years old at start of VOR cycle

  4. Normal ovarian reserve:

    1. AMH ≥ 1.2 ng/mL
    2. AFC ≥ 8
    3. FSH ≤ 12IU/L
  5. BMI <38
  6. Patients who desire to transfer the best quality embryo for their embryo transfer.

Exclusion Criteria for participants:

  1. All patients who do not voluntarily give their written consent for participation
  2. Patients with a prior failed IVF cycle - defined as no blastocysts
  3. Patients with a history of more than one failed euploid embryo transfer
  4. Donor oocyte cycles
  5. Gestational Carriers
  6. Male partner with <100,000 total motile spermatozoa per ejaculate (donor sperm is acceptable)
  7. Use of surgical procedures to obtain sperm
  8. Communicating hydrosalpinges without a plan for surgical correct prior to frozen embryo transfer
  9. Endometrial Insufficiency, as defined by a prior cycle with maximal endometrial thickness <6mm,), or persistent endometrial fluid
  10. Single gene disorders, chromosomal translocations, or any other disorders requiring a more detailed embryo genetic analysis than standard PGT-A

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Other: Cleavage Stage Assisted Hatching (AH)
Current standard of care. Day 3 or cleavage stage embryos will have the zona pellucida hatched with a laser.
Other: Laser Assisted Hatching
Routine assisted hatching procedure will be performed on both groups at the different embryo developmental phases.
Experimental: Blastocyst Stage Assisted Hatching (AH)
Blastocyst stage embryos on day 5,6 or 7 will have the zona pellucida hatched with a laser.
Other: Laser Assisted Hatching
Routine assisted hatching procedure will be performed on both groups at the different embryo developmental phases.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Blastulation Rate
Time Frame: 1 week after vaginal oocyte retrieval (VOR)
Blastulation rate per 2 pronuclei (PN) in each group
1 week after vaginal oocyte retrieval (VOR)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Embryo morphologic grade
Time Frame: 1 week post VOR
Gardner and Modified Gardner grading system will be used
1 week post VOR
Timing of blastulation
Time Frame: 1 week post VOR
proportion of blastocysts that blastulate on day 5,6 or 7
1 week post VOR
Aneuploidy rate
Time Frame: 2 weeks post blastulation
Rates of whole chromosome positive and negative preimplantation genetic testing (PGT-A) results
2 weeks post blastulation
Positive pregnancy rate
Time Frame: approximately 9 days post embryo transfer
proportion of positive pregnancy tests per embryo transfer
approximately 9 days post embryo transfer
Sustained implantation rate
Time Frame: 8-9 weeks gestational age or approximately 5-6 weeks post embryo transfer
proportion of patients discharged with presence of a fetal heartbeat
8-9 weeks gestational age or approximately 5-6 weeks post embryo transfer
Pregnancy loss rate
Time Frame: approximately 1-2 months post initial bHCG
proportion of pregnancy patients who experience a loss of pregnancy
approximately 1-2 months post initial bHCG
Live birth rate
Time Frame: approximately 40 weeks gestation or 7 months post discharge
proportion of patients who deliver a live born infant
approximately 40 weeks gestation or 7 months post discharge

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jason Fransiak, MD, Reproductive Medicine Associates of new Jersey

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 31, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 17, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 17, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 22, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2304-BRG-057-JF

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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