Chemists in Ireland have developed a device that can measure the breath of tiny embryos - which could revolutionise IVF treatment for couples.

The research is reported in the latest edition of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Lab on a Chip.

Dr Dmitri Papkovsky and a team at University College Cork have built the microchip - which monitors the oxygen used by mouse embryos at the earliest stages of their development, when they are only a few cells in size. 

Dr Papkovsky said: "We hope the chip will prove useful for monitoring the health of embryos created by in vitro fertilisation (IVF), the process in which eggs are extracted and fertilised outside the body - with successfully fertilised eggs implanted later into the womb.

"IVF is used to help infertile couples conceive, as well as being a useful tool in animal breeding programmes."

Multiple births and unsuccessful attempts are common in IVF, and Dr Papkovsky believes this is due to lack of understanding of the factors that make a healthy embryo.

He said: "The rate at which embryos consume oxygen is a good indicator of their health - but because they use such tiny amounts, this can be hard to measure." 

The new technique is extremely sensitive and uses a molecule that fluoresces when oxygen is used up.

Biotechnology expert Professor Tony Turner, of Cranfield University, said: "This work shows the importance of taking an integrated view of sensing devices to combine advances in both chemistry and engineering to meet real needs.

"Developments in biochips are now reaching the stage where they have left the research lab and are finding real utility in clinically relevant situations."

Dr Papkovsky said: "We see moving towards use in routine analysis in IVF clinics as the way forward for this work."