The husband was initially diagnosed with azoospermia, a condition where semen contains no or very few sperm, making natural conception nearly impossible. The couple had been trying to conceive for 18 years without success, until doctors introduced them to a new method.
Called STAR, short for Sperm Tracking and Recovery, the method was developed by the Columbia University Fertility Center in New York. This new technology offers hope to thousands of men diagnosed with azoospermia, a condition estimated to affect about 15% of infertile men.
"Under a microscope, a semen sample can appear as just a sea of cellular debris with no sperm visible," said Dr. Zev Williams, Director of the Fertility Center.
In these cases, the only options are often using donor sperm or undergoing invasive surgery to remove testicular tissue to search for sperm. However, doctors often find nothing, leading to disappointment for both the patient and their family.
Faced with this challenge, Williams' team applied AI technology used in astronomy, which helps detect distant planets and stars, to develop STAR. The system can analyze high-powered images and automatically detect any remaining sperm in a semen sample.
This technology is so accurate that, in one test, the system detected 44 sperm in a sample that embryologists had spent two days examining without any results. The process took only an hour.
"We're using technology that finds life in the universe to create life right here on Earth," Williams said.
The first person to conceive using STAR was 38-year-old Rosie, after 19 years of trying to conceive with her husband, who has azoospermia. She shared with Time magazine, "There were really no other options. And with my reproductive age, I was coming to the end."
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With the help of STAR, many infertile couples have increased their chances of having children without resorting to overly expensive methods. Photo: Adobe Stock |
With the help of STAR, many infertile couples have increased their chances of having children without resorting to overly expensive methods. Photo: Adobe Stock
Her husband only needed to provide one semen sample. The STAR system scanned the sample, generating over 8 million images within an hour. The AI identified three viable sperm cells. A robot automatically extracted the sperm from the sample without causing damage.
"Imagine searching through thousands of haystacks scattered across ten football fields and finding it in less than two hours," Williams compared.
After retrieving the sperm, doctors performed in vitro fertilization (IVF). For Rosie, the egg was fertilized within two hours of sample collection. The embryo was transferred to her uterus a few days later.
Rosie is now five months pregnant. "I still wake up in the morning and can't believe this is real," she said.
STAR is currently only available at the Columbia Fertility Center. Williams said the cost of searching, extracting, and freezing sperm is under 3,000 USD. Meanwhile, the average cost for one IVF cycle in the US is 12,000 to 15,000 USD, not including medications and genetic testing.
Robert Brannigan, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, believes the technology has potential but needs more data before widespread adoption.
The emergence of STAR comes amid rising male infertility rates globally. One study found that sperm counts in Western men decreased by more than 50% between 1973 and 2011. The cause is unclear but is thought to be linked to environmental factors, obesity, diet, and lack of exercise.
"With STAR, men who thought they would never have biological children now have a chance," Williams said.
Thuc Linh (According to NY Post)
