1981: Finding the egg by sound
The Modern Laboratory · The Modern Papers
The Modern Papers · MP·02 · 1981
1981: Finding the egg by sound
In Copenhagen, a needle guided by ultrasound reached the follicle without an operation.
The story
Until then, eggs for IVF were collected at laparoscopy, an operation under general anaesthetic. Suzan Lenz and her colleagues, in the Copenhagen school of ultrasound, showed another way. A scanner on the abdomen found the follicles, and a needle passed through the abdominal wall and the full bladder into each one.
Most women could be treated under local anaesthetic. By 1984 Lenz had used the method in 125 cycles, with the women going home the same day.
Within a few years a probe placed in the vagina made the route shorter still (MP·06). But the idea of finding the egg by sound, without an operation, began here.
The paper
Collection of Human Oocytes for in vitro Fertilisation by Ultrasonically Guided Follicular Puncture
Suzan Lenz, Jørgen Glenn Lauritsen, M. Kjellow
The Lancet 1981;1(8230):1163 to 1164. 23 May 1981. Read the paper.
Find it in the museum
How we know
Citation checked against PubMed (PMID 6112519) on 14 October 2026. No abstract is indexed; the 1984 figures come from Lenz's later reports, cited on her page.
The IVF Museum · The Modern Papers
Compiled with AI-assisted research and checked against the original sources. Undergoing peer review. Corrections are warmly welcomed.
