This success is attributed to Dr. Zev Williams, director of the Columbia team, and his team. They developed a technology that helps address azoospermia, the absence of sperm in semen. It’s worth noting that in the US, approximately 40% of infertility cases are linked to men, with azoospermia accounting for 10% of these cases. Previously, in the absence of sperm, doctors could only recommend donor sperm; however, this new AI technology offers a new ray of hope.
First Child Born with the Help of AI
They have successfully achieved the first pregnancy using a new AI (Artificial Intelligence)-powered technology called STAR (Sperm Tracking and Recovery). This news brings new hope to couples struggling with male infertility, particularly those with azoospermia. Azoospermia is a condition where no sperm are present in the semen. This new AI technology will now enable such couples to start a family.What is Azoospermia?
Azoospermia means the absence of sperm in a man’s ejaculate. When a man has sexual intercourse and ejaculates, his semen should contain sperm to fertilise an egg. However, in azoospermia, these sperm are completely absent. This is a major cause of male infertility, as it makes natural conception difficult. However, this does not mean that a man with azoospermia can never become a father. Today, several other techniques (such as the AI technique) are available that can help such men achieve parenthood.
Dr. Williams explains that while a man with azoospermia may have a semen sample that appears normal to the naked eye, the microscopic view tells a different story. Typically, even highly experienced technicians struggle to find any sperm in such samples, as they are often filled with other debris. Considering that sperm are the smallest cells in the body, it’s not surprising that even the best fertility technicians struggle to find sperm in azoospermia samples.
This is Where AI Enters
Dr. Williams and his team spent five years developing a remarkable system. It combines an AI algorithm (which identifies sperm) with a fluidic chip. This chip passes the semen sample through a thin tube. If the AI detects any sperm, that small portion of semen is diverted into a separate tube and collected. These few isolated sperm can then be stored, frozen, or used to fertilise an egg.How Does “STAR” Work?
This system is called STAR (Sperm Track and Recovery). Its inspiration came from astrophysicists who use AI to discover new stars and planets. Dr. Williams says, “If you can find a new star or the birth of a new star in a sky filled with billions of stars, perhaps we can use the same method to find that one special cell (sperm) among billions of cells.” He explains that STAR has been trained to find “very, very, very rare sperm.” He compares it to finding a needle in a haystack, but STAR does this in a few hours, and so gently that the sperm found can be used to fertilise an egg.What Makes STAR Special?
Dr. Williams says that STAR differs from other AI systems that only scan and identify specific things, because STAR can also isolate the target (sperm) along with analysis. This system can scan eighty million (8 million) images in an hour. Dr. Williams remembers the moment he realised that STAR could become a powerful tool in treating certain types of infertility. He explains, “To test the system, we ran samples through STAR before discarding those in which embryologists had not found any sperm. The embryologists really worked hard so as not to be left behind by the machine. In one sample, they searched for two days and found no sperm, but STAR found 44 sperm in an hour!”
