Researchers describe how AI helped infertile couple conceive after 19 years

An artificial intelligence algorithm scanned 25 lakh images of a semen sample for over two hours to identify two viable sperm cells enabling a couple to conceive after 19 years according to an article published in The Lancet journalThe couple a 39yearold man and a 37yearold woman in the US had undergone multiple in vitro fertilisation IVF cycles procedures that involved a manual searching for sperm and two surgical procedures to extract spermA semen sample can appear totally normal but when you look under the microscope you discover just a sea of cellular debris with no sperm visible senior author Zev Williams director of the Columbia University Fertility Center saidMany couples with malefactor infertility are told they have little chance of having a biological child Williams addedMen with azoospermia whose ejaculate contains little or no sperm may undergo a surgical procedure to have sperm extracted from the testesHowever it is often unsuccessful and can cause vascular problems inflammation or a temporary decrease in testosterone levels the researchers saidThe team developed a method named Sperm Tracking and Recovery STAR that takes help of AI for a highspeed realtime identification and isolation of rare sperm in semen samples previously classified as azoospermicHighpowered imaging technology is employed to scan through a semen sample taking over eight million images in under an hour they said in the correspondence articleAI helps identify sperm cells in the sample and a chip with tiny hairlike channels separates the portion of the sample containing a sperm cell a robot then extracts the sperm cell which can be used to create an embryo or frozen and stored for future use the team saidThey added that despite being based on one instance the findings show how the STAR method is feasible in overcoming longstanding barriers in helping men with azoospermiaA 35millilitre ejaculated semen sample was gently washed suspended in 800microlitre semen analysis buffer and processed using the STAR system Manual slidebased examination revealed no sperm the authors wroteIn contrast the STAR system analysed 25 million images in approximately 2 hours and detected seven sperm cells two motile and five nonmotile they saidThe motile sperms were injected into two mature oocytes they go on to form egg cells which developed into embryosThe embryos were transferred on day three and 13 days later the woman had her firstever positive pregnancy test which progressed to a confirmed clinical pregnancy the authors saidAt eight weeks gestation the patient transitioned to obstetric care with ultrasound showing normal foetal development and a heartbeat of 172 beats per minute they saidLarger clinical trials are underway to evaluate the efficacy of STAR in broader patient populations the team addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever