The first births resulting from pregnancies initiated by laser-assisted hatching could signal the emergence of photonics in in vitro fertilization. The births -- a boy in the US and twins in Australia -- were part of ongoing clinical trials of the in vitro fertilization workstation from Cell Robotics International Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M.

The parents of the child born in the US had experienced such infertility problems as dangerous tubular pregnancies that resulted in miscarriages, as well as several failed attempts using standard in vitro fertilization. The mother became pregnant on the first attempt using the laser-assisted hatching technique.

In Germany, where Cell Robotics sold its first workstation, Dr. David Peet reported achieving a 52 percent pregnancy rate using laser-assisted hatching. Without the technique, his success rate was 25 to 30 percent.