Objective: To evaluate the accuracy, efficiency, and applicability of a new automated method of follicular assessment.
Design: Retrospective review of three-dimensional ultrasonographic ovarian volumes.
Setting: Academic center.
Patient(s): Three-dimensional ovarian volumes from patients undergoing IVF.
Intervention(s): Three-dimensional volumes of gonadotropin-stimulated ovaries and simulated ovarian follicles (SOFs) of known volume were evaluated with the new automated follicular assessment software (SonoAVC).
Main outcome measure(s): [1] Maximum absolute error for the SonoAVC in assessing the volumes of the SOFs; [2] correlations between the automated and manual follicular measurements; [3] time required to analyze all of the follicles in a given ovarian volume.
Result(s): The SOF of 4, 6, and 10 mm were evaluated. The SonoAVC's maximum absolute error for the volumes of the 4, 6, and 10 mm SOFs was 0 (0%), 0.01 (8.3%), and 0.02 (3.8%) cc, respectively. Three hundred forty-seven follicles, ranging in diameter from 2.3-32 mm, were evaluated. The correlation coefficient for the SonoAVC-generated relaxed follicular diameter and the manual measured mean follicular diameter was 0.99. The time required to analyze all of the follicles in a given ovarian volume for the automated and manual method was 133 versus 361 seconds, respectively.
Conclusion(s): The SonoAVC proved to be a very accurate and efficient way to measure ovarian follicles. The measurements obtained by the SonoAVC correlated extremely well with the manual measurements we obtained.