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New AI Method Unlocks Pregnancy for Couple After 18 Years of Infertility

Developed at Columbia University, the system will be detailed in upcoming publications to allow broader clinical use.

As artificial intelligence shapes fertility care, it’s now helping doctors at Columbia University Fertility Center find hidden sperm.
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An embryologist works with advanced imaging equipment while an embryo appears on the computer screen, symbolizing the high-precision fertility techniques used in the STAR system—an AI-powered method that helped detect hidden sperm in azoospermic men, leading to successful pregnancies after years of infertility.
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Overview

  • The woman conceived via the STAR-assisted IVF procedure in March and is now five months pregnant with a December due date.
  • STAR (Sperm Tracking and Recovery) leverages AI-driven image analysis to scan over eight million frames and isolate rare sperm in azoospermic samples.
  • Dr. Zev Williams and his team spent five years developing and validating the technology, which is currently offered exclusively at Columbia University Fertility Center.
  • In validation tests, STAR identified 44 sperm within an hour in a sample that embryologists had examined for two days without finding any.
  • Williams’s team plans to publish their methodology and results in peer-reviewed journals to enable adoption by fertility clinics worldwide.