abdOguide

At abdOguide, we believe that no woman should be told her journey to motherhood ends because of her anatomy. Our mission is to expand in-vitro fertilization access, because we believe every person deserves a clear path to parenthood. abdOguide is the first dedicated transabdominal ultrasound needle guide designed to aid physicians in performing transabdominal egg retrievals when, for anatomical or preferential reasons, the transvaginal approach isn’t feasible. It transforms a complex 'Hail Mary' procedure into an intuitive and controlled one-person task. With over 430,000 IVF cycles performed annually in the U.S., abdOguide aims to turn the unreachable into the achievable.

According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 6 couples experience infertility globally. For these patients, IVF represents one of the most hopeful, and most expensive, paths to parenthood. Costing patients and their partners upwards of $15,000 per cycle, every attempt carries enormous emotional and financial weight; and, for a meaningful subset of patients, the standard approach to egg retrieval isn't even an option. With over 430,000 IVF cycles performed annually in the U.S. and demand expected to keep rising, oocyte retrieval remains one of the most critical steps in the fertility process. While transvaginal ultrasound-guided retrieval is the standard, approximately 0.4-1.6% of patients have ovaries that are transvaginally inaccessible due to anatomical variations such as Müllerian anomalies, surgical transposition, or prior hysterectomy. For these women, every egg counts. A transabdominal retrieval approach exists, but it is rarely performed. In fact, in the entire UPMC network, one of the largest health systems in the country, only one physician is trained to perform it. The procedure currently requires two highly trained clinicians: one to stabilize the ultrasound probe and maintain pressure, and another to guide the needle. It relies on makeshift adaptations of transvaginal equipment not designed for abdominal use. The result is a high-risk, low-availability procedure that most fertility centers simply cannot offer. This means patients are turned away, cycles are canceled, and families lose their last viable path to biological parenthood. No dedicated solution has existed. Until now. abdOguide is the first dedicated transabdominal ultrasound needle guide designed to solve this problem. The device mounts directly onto the GE 4C-RS convex probe and features a fixed 53° needle trajectory aligned with the ultrasound's existing on-screen guide projection, enabling a single clinician to confidently direct an 18-gauge retrieval needle to the target follicle. Its extended guide length accommodates the longer needle path required for abdominal insertion, and a secure locking mechanism ensures stability under clinical loads without obstructing grip or imaging quality. Developed through ethnographic research at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and backed by a comprehensive Design History File with formal verification and validation protocols, abdOguide transforms a complex two-operator procedure into a streamlined single-clinician workflow. abdOguide is also positioned to scale. The IVF devices and consumables market represents a $3.3 billion global opportunity, growing at a 16.8% compound annual growth rate as IVF access becomes a global priority. Our initial obtainable market targets edge-case anatomy in private fertility clinics, representing $344,000 in near-term revenue. But the deeper value proposition is efficiency: by reducing a two-clinician procedure to one, abdOguide saves US fertility clinics up to $11 million annually in labor costs, prevents canceled cycles, and allows clinics to capture revenue they are currently turning away. With a provisional patent application filed, a working prototype in hand, and a plan for obtaining FDA clearance underway, abdOguide is ready to ensure that anatomy is never the last word in a patient's fertility journey!