After waiting for 18 years without a child due to infertility, a couple has received exciting news: artificial intelligence (AI) has identified 44 viable sperm cells in a man previously diagnosed as infertile, and his wife is now pregnant.
It has been reported that AI managed to locate the viable sperm in just one hour of analysis, despite the man being deemed infertile for nearly two decades.
Researchers at Columbia University Fertility Centre in the United States stated that they employed AI to detect viable sperm in a man who had been diagnosed with infertility.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that the man, diagnosed with azoospermia—a condition characterised by an extremely low or absent sperm count—and his wife had been attempting to conceive for 18 years.
According to TODAY, in March 2025, the woman underwent the first successful embryo transfer, fertilised using cells retrieved through this innovative AI process, and she is now expecting.
**How AI Sperm Detection Works**
Zev Williams, the lead researcher and director of the university’s fertility programme, noted that laboratory technicians examined the patient’s semen sample for two days without detecting any sperm. However, after applying an AI-powered system, they identified 44 viable sperm cells in less than an hour.
“Labs searched for two days and found nothing. We ran the same sample and found 44 sperm within an hour,” he explained. “That changes everything for a couple who thought they had no path forward.”
The system, known as Sperm Track and Recovery (STAR), combines an AI algorithm for detecting sperm with a fluidic chip that passes the semen sample through a tiny tubule on a plastic chip. As the sample moves, a microscope linked to a high-speed camera captures millions of images in rapid succession.
These images are then scanned in real time by AI software that has been trained to detect viable sperm cells. Once identified, the sperm can be preserved through freezing or used in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a technique where a single sperm is injected directly into an egg.
Researchers stated that this method reduces the time spent searching for sperm and helps avoid invasive surgical procedures that are often required to extract sperm directly from the testicles.
Experts Weigh In
Robert Brannigan, the president-elect of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, described the innovation as “promising.”
“Even the discovery of a single viable sperm can be life-changing,” he remarked.
Allison Rodgers, a reproductive endocrinologist at Fertility Centres of Illinois, noted that the findings highlight gaps in current fertility methods.
She believes that AI will play a crucial role in the future of IVF. “It’s amazing and makes me realise that what we thought was advanced still has a long way to go,” she said. “I think AI is going to absolutely revolutionise IVF.”
However, Gianpiero Palermo, an infertility specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine, urged caution and emphasised the need for further validation of the technology.
“You are attracting patients who have been told they have no sperm and offering what may turn out to be false hope,” Palermo cautioned.
Williams and his team are exploring ways to adapt the system for other uses, including identifying healthy sperm, eggs, and embryos.
