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Time of India
3 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
AI helps woman get pregnant after 20 years of failed fertility treatments in historic IVF breakthrough
A New York couple is finally having a baby after almost two decades of failing to conceive a long, emotionally trying, physically draining, and medically frustrating ride. Their story, foiled by 15 failed IVF treatments and consultations from experts on every continent, was redeemed by an AI-based fertility tool designed at Columbia University. It's a breathtaking medical milestone that could change the face of treatment for male infertility globally. The long-awaited pregnancy of the couple is not only a medical success; it's a victory of endurance, ingenuity, and the ability of technology to overcome very intimate kinds of difficulties. For those with apparently insurmountable barriers, this case provides something invaluable: hope. With the help of AI, the era of reproductive health is about to experience a breakthrough period where even the most challenging fertility situations can be addressed not with desperation, but with data, precision, and empathy. AI brings new hope as woman gets pregnant after 20 years of failed IVF by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Order New Blinds Online & Get $199 Home Installation Learn More Undo For the majority of couples, fertility treatments are emotionally and financially exhausting—if not more so when they are unsuccessful time and time again. This couple was no exception. They struggled for nearly 20 years to have a biological child. Even with access to cutting-edge fertility treatment, surgeries, and international consultations, they were consistently given the same message: conception was all but impossible. The fundamental problem was with the husband, whom the doctor diagnosed with azoospermia , a rare but serious condition where no sperm is present in the ejaculate. Introducing STAR: The AI tool revolutionising male infertility treatment Just when hope appeared to be lost, the couple approached Dr. Zev Williams, a fertility specialist at Columbia University , whose team had been developing a cutting-edge technology: Sperm Track and Recovery (STAR). The AI system was developed to identify good sperm in semen samples where previously none were seen. How STAR works: A microfluidic chip filters and isolates constituents in the semen. A high-speed imaging system takes millions of microscopic frames. A machine learning algorithm scrutinizes these images to spot rare, cryptic sperm—even a few viable cells that might be used in IVF. "Finding a needle in a thousand haystacks" is how Dr. Williams described it. "But STAR can accomplish that in a couple of hours. And it's so gentle the sperm it retrieves can still be used to fertilize an egg." AI breakthrough helps couple conceive after 20 years of infertility In this New York couple's situation, standard lab technicians spent two entire days searching through the semen sample, but couldn't locate a single sperm cell. STAR located 44 viable sperm, though, within an hour—a figure large enough to continue with in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Miraculously, the pair did not require further cycles of hormonal treatment or surgery. With the sperm isolated by STAR, the IVF cycle went smoothly in March 2025. It worked—and the pair is now pregnant with their first child. Dr. Williams noted that the case is by no means a fluke. STAR has the potential to overturn fertility treatment, particularly for men with non-obstructive azoospermia. Non-invasive: No surgery is required to look for or retrieve sperm. Accurate: AI can locate what trained experts may not spot. Hope-restoring: For couples informed their chances were "zero," this provides a new avenue. Affects 1 in 6 people worldwide, states the World Health Organization, and male infertility accounts for roughly 50% of these. For many, diagnosis of azoospermia seemed the end of the road until now. Broader future of AI in reproductive health Whereas STAR today solves sperm detection, scientists think AI can revolutionize many other aspects of fertility treatment as well: Detecting high-quality eggs and embryos Being able to predict IVF success rates Tailoring treatment protocols Finding subtle abnormalities in reproductive tissue "There are things happening that we are not aware of now," said Dr. Williams. "But with AI, we can finally observe them." What is Azoospermia: The "hidden" cause of male infertility Azoospermia occurs in about 1 in 100 men and is responsible for 10–15% of male infertility. It exists in two types: Obstructive azoospermia: The testes generate sperm, but it can't be ejaculated because there are blockages in the reproductive system. Non-obstructive azoospermia: The body is not able to produce sperm at all or only in very low amounts. Some common reasons are: Genetic disorders Chemotherapy or radiation therapy Hormonal imbalance Drug abuse or exposure to toxins Structural defects such as varicoceles (dilated veins in the scrotum) Conventional therapies for azoospermia usually include risky operations to harvest sperm directly from the testes or using donor sperm—both of which pose emotional and ethical challenges for most couples. Also Read | Ed Sheeran's wife Cherry Seaborn worked at Deloitte for 10 years; her LinkedIn profile goes viral AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
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Business Standard
11-06-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
AI Miracle: First-ever pregnancy using breakthrough infertility tech
Imagine trying to have a baby for nearly 20 years, going through 15 IVF cycles — only to hit roadblock after roadblock. That's exactly the story of a couple from New York, who just had a life-changing breakthrough thanks to a cutting-edge AI system. A Columbia University team, led by Dr Zev Williams, has launched STAR (Sperm Track and Recovery), an AI-powered platform that identifies rare sperm in azoospermia cases. 'If you can look into a sky that's filled with billions of stars and try to find a new one, or the birth of a new star, then maybe we can use that same approach to look through billions of cells and try to find that one specific one we are looking for,' says Dr Williams. In this case, STAR is trained to pick up 'really, really, really rare sperm,' he says. 'I liken it to finding a needle hidden within a thousand haystacks. But it can do that in a couple of hours—and so gently that the sperm that we recover can be used to fertilise an egg.' What is Azoospermia? One of the biggest hurdles in male infertility is called azoospermia — a condition where no sperm is detectable in a semen sample. It can be 'obstructive,' where there is a blockage preventing sperm from entering the ejaculate, or 'nonobstructive' when it is due to decreased sperm production by the testis. Azoospermia affects nearly 1% of the male population and about 10–15% of all males with infertility. Before STAR, the only options were invasive procedures or using donor sperm. Possible causes of azoospermia Genetic conditions Medical treatments — such as chemotherapy or radiation Recreational drug use Varicoceles (enlarged veins in the scrotum) Absence of the vas deferens (on one or both sides) Vasectomy Other less understood causes, including poor testicular development during fetal or childhood stages, or exposure to environmental toxins How does STAR work? This system uses: An AI-powered algorithm A microfluidic chip that filters semen A scanner that processes millions of images per hour to identify even the rarest sperm Dr Williams and his team spent five years building a new system that uses AI to find sperm in samples where none can be seen. The process involves a special chip that moves the semen through a tiny tube. If the AI spots a sperm cell, it redirects that small part of the sample into a separate tube so it can be collected. The few sperm found this way can then be frozen, stored, or used to fertilise an egg. The breakthrough moment Technicians scanned samples for 48 hours straight and found virtually nothing. But in just one hour, STAR identified 44 viable sperm samples — enough for IVF. The couple had done everything: overseas experts, surgery, chemical treatments. Nothing helped. The husband's azoospermia had defied treatment via surgery, overseas experts, and chemical prep. However, STAR proved there were sperm, just hidden deep. They used it during a regular IVF cycle, and by March 2025, it resulted in a successful fertilisation. For the couple, using STAR did not require any additional testing or procedures; their successful cycle in March proceeded no differently than any of the other IVF cycles they had experienced. A wider future for AI in fertility care STAR isn't just a one-time solution — it opens doors for AI to revolutionise fertility diagnostics and treatments. Dr Williams adds that azoospermia is only one of many infertility issues that AI could address. 'There are things going on that we are blind to right now. But with the introduction of AI, we are being shown what those things are. The dream is to develop technologies so that those who are told 'you have no chance of being able to have a child' can now go on to have healthy children.'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Doctors Report the First Pregnancy Using a New AI Procedure
Doctors at Columbia University Fertility Center have reported what they are calling the first pregnancy using a new AI system, in a couple that had been trying to start a family for nearly two decades. The pregnancy was possible due to an advance developed by the Columbia team, led by Dr. Zev Williams, director of the center, to address azoospermia, or a lack of detectable sperm in the ejaculate. Male factors account for about 40% of infertility in the U.S., and azoospermia is responsible for about 10% of those cases. Until recently, there was little doctors could do to address the lack of sperm needed to fertilize an egg, other than using donor sperm. While to the naked eye, a sperm sample from a man with azoospermia might look normal, the microscope tells a different story, Williams says. Highly trained technicians rarely find any sperm in these samples, which are often filled with other debris. Add to that the fact that sperm are the smallest cell in the body, and it's not surprising that even the best fertility technicians rarely find sperm in azoospermia samples. That's where AI comes in. Williams and his team spent five years developing a system that combined an AI algorithm for detecting sperm with a fluidic chip that passed the semen sample through a tiny tubule on a plastic chip. If the AI picked up sperm, that tiny portion of semen would be directed to a separate tubule and collected. The few sperm isolated in this way could then be stored, frozen, or used to fertilize an egg. Called STAR, for Sperm Track and Recovery, the system was inspired by similar approaches that astrophysicists use to enlist AI to detect new stars and planets. 'If you can look into a sky that's filled with billions of stars and try to find a new one, or the birth of a new star, then maybe we can use that same approach to look through billions of cells and try to find that one specific one we are looking for,' says Williams. In this case, STAR is trained to pick up 'really, really, really rare sperm,' he says. 'I liken it to finding a needle hidden within a thousand haystacks. But it can do that in a couple of hours—and so gently that the sperm that we recover can be used to fertilize an egg.' Read More: IVF Patients Say a Test Caused Them to Discard Embryos. Now They're Suing STAR is distinct from AI systems that have been developed to scan and detect specific features, Williams says, because it combines that analysis with the ability to also actively isolate the target in question—in this case, any sperm found in a semen sample. The system can scan eight million images in about an hour, and Williams remembers the moment when he was convinced that STAR could become a powerful tool for treating certain forms of infertility. 'To test the system, before we discarded samples where embryologists could not find any sperm, we decided to run those samples through the system. The embryologists really worked hard to find sperm, since they didn't want to be outshone by a machine. In one of the samples they analyzed for two days and found no sperm, STAR found 44 in an hour.' Rosie and her husband became the first couple to get pregnant using STAR in March 2025. The couple spent nearly 19 years trying to get pregnant, and Rosie—who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her privacy—says their Orthodox Jewish faith kept them hopeful during 15 unsuccessful IVF cycles. Prior to the pregnancy, they had explored multiple options to address her husband's azoospermia, including surgery and enlisting an expert from overseas to manually analyze and isolate sperm from his samples. They also researched efforts to extract sperm that were more controversial because they involved using chemicals that could potentially be detrimental to the quality of sperm. 'There really was nothing else out there,' says Rosie, 38, of their options before learning about STAR. 'Especially because I am running quite a few years ahead of where we should be [for fertility]. I'm not that old, but in fertility years—egg-wise—I was reaching my end.' They were introduced to Williams and his fertility program through a community group and learned everything they could about the system. 'We knew exactly what it was, and knew what they were trying to do,' says Rosie. 'If they could get sperm in a more natural way without chemicals and hopefully chose the good ones—if the program was able to do that, we knew we had a better chance.' Read More: Why It's So Hard to Have Your Fertility Tested For the couple, using STAR did not require any additional testing or procedures; their successful cycle in March proceeded no differently than any of the other IVF cycles they had experienced. 'We were keeping our hopes to a minimum after so many disappointments,' says Rosie. 'We came in, did what we had to do for the cycle, knowing there was probably a very small chance of anything happening. Why should this be any different from every other time?' Usually in an IVF cycle, there are far more sperm than eggs, says Williams, but in cases of azoospermia, the opposite is true. So to ensure that a couple has the best chance of a pregnancy, Williams and his team collect several batches of sperm using STAR and freeze them. Then they coordinate the mother-to-be's ovulation cycle on IVF, and on the day they retrieve her eggs, they collect a fresh semen sample, run it through STAR, and use any sperm collected to fertilize any available eggs. The frozen sperm serve as backup in case no fresh sperm can be found. Within two hours after collecting her husband's sperm that March, they learned that Rosie's eggs had been successfully fertilized and were ready to be transferred to her uterus a few days later. 'After the transfer, it took me two days to believe I was actually pregnant,' says Rosie. Now four months along, Rosie is receiving standard obstetric care, and all indications are that her pregnancy is proceeding well. 'I still wake up in the morning and can't believe if this is true or not,' she says. 'And I still don't believe [I'm pregnant] until I see the scans.' Williams says azoospermia is only one of many infertility issues that AI could address. 'There are things going on that we are blind to right now. But with the introduction of AI, we are being shown what those things are. The dream is to develop technologies so that those who are told 'you have no chance of being able to have a child' can now go on to have healthy children.' Contact us at letters@
Time Magazine
10-06-2025
- Health
- Time Magazine
Doctors Report the First Pregnancy Using a New AI Procedure
Doctors at Columbia University Fertility Center have reported what they are calling the first pregnancy using a new AI system, in a couple that had been trying to start a family for nearly two decades. The pregnancy was possible due to an advance developed by the Columbia team, led by Dr. Zev Williams, director of the center, to address azoospermia, or a lack of detectable sperm in the ejaculate. Male factors account for about 40% of infertility in the U.S., and azoospermia is responsible for about 10% of those cases. Until recently, there was little doctors could do to address the lack of sperm needed to fertilize an egg, other than using donor sperm. While to the naked eye, a sperm sample from a man with azoospermia might look normal, the microscope tells a different story, Williams says. Highly trained technicians rarely find any sperm in these samples, which are often filled with other debris. Add to that the fact that sperm are the smallest cell in the body, and it's not surprising that even the best fertility technicians rarely find sperm in azoospermia samples. That's where AI comes in. Williams and his team spent five years developing a system that combined an AI algorithm for detecting sperm with a fluidic chip that passed the semen sample through a tiny tubule on a plastic chip. If the AI picked up sperm, that tiny portion of semen would be directed to a separate tubule and collected. The few sperm isolated in this way could then be stored, frozen, or used to fertilize an egg. Called STAR, for Sperm Track and Recovery, the system was inspired by similar approaches that astrophysicists use to enlist AI to detect new stars and planets. 'If you can look into a sky that's filled with billions of stars and try to find a new one, or the birth of a new star, then maybe we can use that same approach to look through billions of cells and try to find that one specific one we are looking for,' says Williams. In this case, STAR is trained to pick up 'really, really, really rare sperm,' he says. 'I liken it to finding a needle hidden within a thousand haystacks. But it can do that in a couple of hours—and so gently that the sperm that we recover can be used to fertilize an egg.' STAR is distinct from AI systems that have been developed to scan and detect specific features, Williams says, because it combines that analysis with the ability to also actively isolate the target in question—in this case, any sperm found in a semen sample. The system can scan eight million images in about an hour, and Williams remembers the moment when he was convinced that STAR could become a powerful tool for treating certain forms of infertility. 'To test the system, before we discarded samples where embryologists could not find any sperm, we decided to run those samples through the system. The embryologists really worked hard to find sperm, since they didn't want to be outshone by a machine. In one of the samples they analyzed for two days and found no sperm, STAR found 44 in an hour.' Rosie and her husband became the first couple to get pregnant using STAR in March 2025. The couple spent nearly 19 years trying to get pregnant, and Rosie—who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her privacy—says their Orthodox Jewish faith kept them hopeful during 15 unsuccessful IVF cycles. Prior to the pregnancy, they had explored multiple options to address her husband's azoospermia, including surgery and enlisting an expert from overseas to manually analyze and isolate sperm from his samples. They also researched efforts to extract sperm that were more controversial because they involved using chemicals that could potentially be detrimental to the quality of sperm. 'There really was nothing else out there,' says Rosie, 38, of their options before learning about STAR. 'Especially because I am running quite a few years ahead of where we should be [for fertility]. I'm not that old, but in fertility years—egg-wise—I was reaching my end.' They were introduced to Williams and his fertility program through a community group and learned everything they could about the system. 'We knew exactly what it was, and knew what they were trying to do,' says Rosie. 'If they could get sperm in a more natural way without chemicals and hopefully chose the good ones—if the program was able to do that, we knew we had a better chance.' For the couple, using STAR did not require any additional testing or procedures; their successful cycle in March proceeded no differently than any of the other IVF cycles they had experienced. 'We were keeping our hopes to a minimum after so many disappointments,' says Rosie. 'We came in, did what we had to do for the cycle, knowing there was probably a very small chance of anything happening. Why should this be any different from every other time?' Usually in an IVF cycle, there are far more sperm than eggs, says Williams, but in cases of azoospermia, the opposite is true. So to ensure that a couple has the best chance of a pregnancy, Williams and his team collect several batches of sperm using STAR and freeze them. Then they coordinate the mother-to-be's ovulation cycle on IVF, and on the day they retrieve her eggs, they collect a fresh semen sample, run it through STAR, and use any sperm collected to fertilize any available eggs. The frozen sperm serve as backup in case no fresh sperm can be found. Within two hours after collecting her husband's sperm that March, they learned that Rosie's eggs had been successfully fertilized and were ready to be transferred to her uterus. 'After the transfer, it took me two days to believe I was actually pregnant,' says Rosie. Now four months along, Rosie is receiving standard obstetric care, and all indications are that her pregnancy is proceeding well. 'I still wake up in the morning and can't believe if this is true or not,' she says. 'And I still don't believe [I'm pregnant] until I see the scans.' Williams says azoospermia is only one of many infertility issues that AI could address. 'There are things going on that we are blind to right now. But with the introduction of AI, we are being shown what those things are. The dream is to develop technologies so that those who are told 'you have no chance of being able to have a child' can now go on to have healthy children.'
