Overview
- Columbia University’s STAR platform identified viable sperm in a man with cryptozoospermia after previous manual searches and two surgical retrievals failed.
- In about two hours, the system scanned roughly 2.5 million images and isolated two motile sperm that were used for ICSI, resulting in a confirmed pregnancy.
- The case, detailed in The Lancet, involved a couple who had pursued fertility treatment for 19 years across multiple IVF cycles.
- STAR combines high-throughput imaging, real-time AI detection, and microfluidic sorting to separate individual sperm into compartments ready for use.
- The enclosed device uses single-use sterile components, and study authors emphasize the need for broader validation before clinical adoption.