Latest news with #ConceivableLifeSciences
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Exclusive: We Thought Having a Baby Was 'Impossible.' Then Doctors Used AI
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The parents of the world's first baby born thanks to AI exclusively told Newsweek how a new IVF procedure powered entirely by artificial intelligence made the "impossible" a reality. The couple's hopes of starting a family were crushed when Edna, 42, and Tony, 45, were diagnosed with infertility issues, including Edna's ovarian insufficiency. But in 2023, they were introduced to a prototype study led by Conceivable Life Sciences through Hope IVF—a private clinic in Mexico City. From left to right: Luis, Dr Luis Miguel Campos (the patients' clinician), parents Edna and Tony. From left to right: Luis, Dr Luis Miguel Campos (the patients' clinician), parents Edna and Tony. Conceivable The precision of AI This study proved it was possible to control robotics within the IVF lab to perform ICSI, otherwise known as Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, remotely to create an embryo. This means embryos created through the robotic ICSI step receive consistent treatment with high precision and a more controlled approach to combining the egg and sperm, compared to current manual methods. The surgeon still oversees the robot and the processes, but with much improved outcomes. Edna and Tony—who are using their middle names for privacy—spoke exclusively to Newsweek about how they became the first family shaped by AI. "We represent expectations and hope for all those couples who are unable to reach their goal to become parents," they said through Spanish translation. "Once we heard the baby's heartbeat, we felt like we reached something that seemed previously impossible." A scalable model for fertility treatment The prototype study involved 41 patients and to date, has resulted in 21 pregnancies and 18 live births. Its system sees AI-powered robots help human doctors in a first step towards automating IVF treatments. The remote ICSI procedure used allows for a much gentler approach to embryo creation, helping improve quality outcomes at a microscopic level. Baby Luis (his real name) was born in Morelia in November 2024. Now seven-months-old, he has become the first baby to be conceived thanks to AI. Inside the AI system Chief medical officer at Conceivable Life Sciences, Dr. Alejandro Chavez-Badiola and one of the principal investigators on the paper, shared two scenarios: "Am I the lucky patient who is going to be treated by the best embryologist in the world at 8 a.m. after a cup of coffee and with a smile on their face, fully focused," he told Newsweek. "Or am I going to be the unlucky patient who is going to be treated by the best embryologist in the world at 1 p.m. when they're about to inject their 17th egg, thinking about lunch and having just received a distressing phone call from their partner." With this new system, the entire procedure uses mathematical algorithms and robotics to carry out the fertilization process step-by-step, with future precision likely to be beyond human capability. "Automation is not only allowing us to standardize these issues with the precision of robots, but to scale this [and] to make sure that every patient anywhere in the world, at any given time, can be treated by the best embryologists," Dr. Chavez-Badiola said. Remote ICSI photography. Remote ICSI photography. Conceivable Tony told Newsweek that the couple didn't have concerns about using the technology to finally become parents. "Although it can be directed to other purposes like weapons or other negative aspects, I feel like it should be applied on a daily basis, because well done, its purpose will be at the service of mankind," he said. While there will always be a clinical team overseeing the automated lab, remote control enables global teams to manage automated labs beyond regular hours, allowing for 18–20-hour workdays. Additionally, as the system can be operated remotely, a specialist in one country can carry out fertilization procedures for patients in another. Cost and duration were also differing factors from traditional methods, but the couple put their trust in the team at Conceivable. "By being more optimal and efficient, I feel like it will reduce the amount of attempts and the necessity of medications," Edna told Newsweek. Edna said that the process was fraught with emotion, given the negative outcomes of their previous IVF rounds. Edna was working in another city when she took the pregnancy test. "When I told Tony the news I was pregnant, it was a delightful surprise for him," she told Newsweek. "We were very happy." Luis, the first baby born from remote ICSI. Luis, the first baby born from remote ICSI. Conceivable The success rate of 51 percent aligns with industry standards, according to the Vienna Consensus. However, in their trials, the researchers also found that embryos created using this AI system had an as good—if not better—development potential than those made by humans alone, resulting in high-quality blastocysts—the stage at which embryos are typically relocated from an embryo transfer catheter to the uterus. Edna and Tony's clinician Dr. Luis Miguel Campos told Newsweek that once he had explained the process of ICSI to them, they saw it as an opportunity. "I joined this program to help two beautiful humans achieve their when they heard they were pregnant, I cried like never before," he said. As for next steps at Conceivable, Dr. Campos said consistency in outcomes is a top priority, eventually leading to an improvement in access for any patient around the world. "By [producing] consistency in results, the control process will imply reducing costs and be more efficient," he said. Ethics and AI Dr. Alexander Kotlyar, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at Genesis Fertility, told Newsweek emerging AI tools in fertility can enhance core ethical principles, provided they are carefully assessed and properly trained. "The ethical debate around AI reminds me of the long-standing tug-of-war behind genetic testing of embryos," he said. "In both cases, there is concern about how the use of new technology, like DNA testing techniques, can truly benefit patient outcomes, [for example], getting pregnant and having a live birth." Dr. Kotlyar explained the use of AI in the fertility field has grown significantly since the first "test tube" baby was born over forty years ago. This development can be partly attributed to the fact that the processes behind AI algorithms are often not transparent, which raises questions about their outcomes and reliability. "This concern is even more profound with AI since decision-making is, at least partly, given to a machine," he told Newsweek. "However, I would reassure patients and the public that in both cases, the technology is always tested against the principles of core medical ethics and if we cannot stay true to those principles, then we do not use the technology." Hope for future parents For Edna and Tony, being the first successful participants of the prototype clinical trial is a dream come true. "We were fortunate to be selected over other candidates for this first treatment, and we feel blessed," they told Newsweek. "We encourage all those couples who are on the journey to becoming parents to not abandon their dreams and hopes." The couple received strong support from both sides of their families. "Some of them felt a little concerned but in the end, everyone was really happy for our outcome," Tony said. When he's old enough, both Edna and Tony will happily tell Luis that he was conceived using AI. "There's a lot of ignorance and certain concerns about technology, but we will explain gladly to our son." Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about IVF? Let us know via health@ Reference Mendizabal-Ruiz, G., Chavez-Badiola, A., Hernández-Morales, E., Valencia-Murillo, R., Ocegueda-Hernández, V., Costa-Borges, N., Mestres, E., Acacio, M., Matia-Algué, Q., Farías, A. F.-S., Carreon, D. S. M., Barragan, C., Silvestri, G., Martinez-Alvarado, A., Olmedo, L. M. C., Aguilar, A. V., Sánchez-González, D. J., Murray, A., Alikani, M., & Cohen, J. (2025). A digitally controlled, remotely operated ICSI system: Case report of the first live birth. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 50(5).
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
First baby born from robot-controlled IVF in clinical trial
The world's first baby conceived through robot-controlled fertilization has been born, researchers say. The boy was born to a 40-year-old woman in Guadalajara, Mexico, following a previous in vitro fertilization attempt that had produced only one mature egg and no embryos, researchers said. Her newborn was conceived using a fully automated, digitally controlled version of an IVF procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI. Remote operators in Guadalajara and in New York -- some 2,300 miles apart -- oversaw the automated system as it selected a sperm, prepared it for injection, and then injected it into a waiting egg. In ICSI, skilled lab technicians manually inject a single sperm directly into an egg, potentially creating an embryo that can then be implanted into the mother. The process involves 23 painstaking steps, and results can vary between technicians, researchers said. To try to improve the process, a research team created an automated workstation in which these steps are performed under AI control or under the digital control of a remote operator. 'With AI, the system autonomously selects sperm and precisely immobilizes its midsection with a laser ready for injection - executing this rapid, precise process with a level of accuracy beyond human capability," lead researcher Gerardo Mendizabal Ruiz, director of the Computational Perception Laboratory at the University of Guadalajara, said in a news release. For this study, five eggs were assigned to fertilization with the automated ISCI system, while three were fertilized by human lab technicians using standard methods. The eggs came from a 23-year-old donor, and were injected with sperm from the new mother's 43-year-old partner. Four of the five injected eggs in the automated system achieved fertilization, compared with all three in the standard method group. One high-quality embryo fertilized with the automated system was transferred into the mother, who became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy, researchers said. The system "represents a transformative solution that promises to enhance precision, improve efficiency, and ensure consistent outcomes," Jacques Cohen, an embryologist with Conceivable Life Sciences in New York, said in a news release. Conceivable Life Sciences created the automated system and funded this clinical trial. The entire automated fertilization procedure took an average of about 10 minutes per egg, slightly longer than routine, manual ICSI, researchers reported. "We expect to reduce procedure time significantly" as the automated process is further honed, Mendizabal-Ruiz said. Next, researchers plan to validate the system's effectiveness by testing its performance in a clinical trial involving more cases. The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online. More information The Cleveland Clinic has more on intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Express Tribune
11-04-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
World's first baby born via AI-powered IVF system
What a medical professional sees when they supervise the IVF procedure via a livestream Photo: Conceivable Life Sciences Listen to article A baby has been born following a form of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) largely carried out by a machine, in what researchers say is a world first. The development could signal a major shift in how fertility treatments are performed. The machine, developed by New York-based biotech firm Conceivable Life Sciences, was used to complete 23 critical steps of a procedure known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). A human operator supervised the process remotely via livestream, initiating each step with the press of a button. "This level of automation could reduce the chance of human error and fatigue affecting the outcomes," said Jacques Cohen, co-founder of the company and an expert in assisted reproduction. In ICSI, a single sperm is injected directly into an egg, a technique often used when male infertility is involved. However, the manual nature of the process requires extreme precision and concentration, making it prone to errors. To test the automated system, researchers recruited a couple struggling with infertility. The male partner's sperm had limited motility, and the female partner received donor eggs due to ovulatory issues. Of the eight donor eggs, five were fertilised using the automated system, and three through conventional manual ICSI. All eight developed into embryos. An AI model then evaluated the embryos, selecting two deemed most viable—both from the automated process. One embryo failed to implant, but the other resulted in the successful birth. Joyce Harper, a reproductive science professor at University College London, described the result as an "exciting proof-of-concept" but noted that larger, controlled trials would be needed to determine if the system is more effective than manual IVF. The system incorporates artificial intelligence to choose optimal sperm based on visual cues and uses a laser to immobilise them before injection. Though not immediately expected to become widespread due to cost, Cohen believes the expense will decrease with further development and standardisation.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists announce first baby born via robotic sperm injection system
In a groundbreaking advancement for assisted reproduction, a baby has been born following fertilization through a fully automated and digitally controlled intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) system—a first in medical history. This achievement signifies a major leap in the field of in vitro fertilization (IVF), where automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly reshaping clinical practices. In the early stages of ICSI (which was developed in the 1990s and is now a commonly practiced procedure), a trained embryologist would use a needle to inject a single sperm cell into a mature egg. However, the new system developed by a collaborative team from Conceivable Life Sciences, operating in New York and Guadalajara, Mexico, has taken that process out of human hands. Their AI-powered platform automates all 23 steps of the standard ICSI procedure, offering unmatched accuracy and consistency. This new ICSI system integrates modern robotics and AI technology to perform the most sensitive tasks in microinjection. With its advanced algorithms, AI controls much more than just the injection. It also uses lasers to precisely immobilize selected sperm cells and guides them into the egg with unparalleled accuracy, well beyond human performance. The automation of the ICSI process "represents a transformative solution that promises to enhance precision, improve efficiency, and ensure consistent outcomes" through reduced variability and work-related stress on human operators, says Dr Jacques Cohen. In the case that led to this historic birth, a 40-year-old woman who had previously failed an IVF attempt participated in the study. Five donor eggs were fertilized using the automated ICSI system, while three served as controls for manual ICSI performed by the clinic staff. The remote-controlled automated procedure from New York and Guadalajara took just under ten minutes per egg. Researchers describe the faster interactive processes as still in experimental stages but predict upcoming refinements will increase speed. Of the five eggs fertilized with the automated system, four developed normally. A resulting blastocyst, created through remote-controlled injection from 3,700 kilometers away, was frozen and later transferred back into the patient's uterus. The pregnancy proceeded without complication, culminating in the birth of a healthy baby boy. The AI system had complete automation control over every step of ICSI. However, innovating embryo culture, cryopreservation, and even the selection and injection of sperm had already been automated in many fertility labs previously. Even in these pilot stages, success paves the way for further endeavors with scope for clinical tests and later app-wide implementation. 'With AI,' explained Professor Mendizabal-Ruiz, 'the system autonomously selects sperm and precisely immobolises its midsection with a laser ready for injection - executing this rapid, precise process with a level of accuracy beyond human capability.' As IVF laboratories continue to integrate automation across embryo assessment, storage, and fertilization, the birth of this child represents a major milestone. It's not only proof that fully automated fertilization is possible but also a glimpse into the future of precision-driven fertility care. The study has been published in Reproductive BioMedicine Online.
