New Oasis Fertility Clinic boasts the latest in technology, including AI to help patients start a family

A new South Perth clinic aims to revolutionise fertility care by providing cutting-edge technology, including the use of artificial intelligence, in a bid to give every person the chance to start a family. Oasis Fertility Centre is now open, giving patients the opportunity to start a family through the most advanced technology, including the latest in AI and two MIRI time-lapse incubators. The world-class facility has a team of experienced fertility specialists, GPs, scientists, and nurses, all supported by an administrative team. Lead fertility GP Dr Jana Combrinck said fertility issues were more common than people thought, with one in six couples experiencing issues. “We want to break down as many barriers as we can and essentially just create a service that is easy for patients to access, where patients feel supported, welcomed and respected throughout their journey, and hopefully get the outcome that they have been waiting for all these months and years,” she said. Usually an embryologist would have to scroll through six days worth of time-lapse images of an embryo, but with the help of a new tool, the images can be analysed by AI within seconds. This helps staff tell whether embryos are hitting all their development milestones and are suitable for transfer. The new incubators also provide time-lapse images of embryos in real time without having to remove them for microscopy, which can affect their development. This allows the scientists to mimic the uterus as best they can by being able to leave the embryos undisturbed for their development time. Scientific director Melissa Vitorino said this technology relieved an element of stress for patients. “As much as this journey is centred around our patients, for the scientists and the embryologists our patients are the embryos. Those are our patients and we care for them so much,” she said. “So much of this process is out of the patients’ control, and going through this journey is really difficult. If we can alleviate some of that by using technology to help support them, I think they get the best level of care. “By the time the patient gets their embryo back, we have a good indication of their live birth potential. We can show that to them and it just removes an element of stress for them.” Nursing unit manager Gemma Doig is also developing an app to help patients through their IVF journey. “I am very proud of my role in developing a patient app that will aim to streamline communication with our patients and give them greater control and insight into their treatment journey,” she said. Medical director Sunny Baruah said all these services would come at an affordable price to help ease the financial burden on patients. “It is a very lonely journey. They don’t want to talk about it but they suffer silently, so by the time they actually come to see a doctor, most of them have tried to conceive for quite some time,” he said. “We are hoping that we can make fertility care accessible to everybody. That right to have a baby should not be determined by how much money you have in your pocket. “These patients have endured enough suffering, so we are hoping to ease the financial burden which often adds further stress to an emotionally difficult journey.” Oasis Fertility’s satellite clinic in Warwick also officially opened on March 5, enabling patients in Perth’s northern suburbs to have consultations and procedures closer to home.