AI May Help Detect Rare Sperm in Men With Azoospermia
(MedPage Today) -- BALTIMORE -- An artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool could be a last resort for couples wanting to conceive a biological child who had been told they have no sperm, researchers said. The Sperm Tracking and Recovery (STAR...
A Baltimore-based study suggests an AI-powered tool could aid couples with azoospermia, a condition where no sperm is detectable. Columbia University Fertility Center researchers presented findings at the ASRM annual meeting, stating the Sperm Tracking and Recovery (STAR) system successfully located sperm in all 10 spiked samples while a clinician detected sperm in only three.
STAR also identified 167 sperm in those samples, compared to the human expert's four. Among 175 men with azoospermia, STAR detected at least one sperm in 26% of samples, leading to at least three live births via ICSI or cryopreservation. The STAR system, utilizing high-speed imaging, AI, and microfluidics, can detect ultra-rare sperm, a potential game-changer for couples seeking biological children with azoospermia.
However, the tool requires highly-trained technicians, and further development is needed to make it more user-friendly.
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