AI Advances Offer New Hope for Male Infertility Treatment
Istanbul, Turkey – Artificial intelligence is showing promise in assisting with the detection of sperm in cases of azoospermia, a condition affecting approximately five percent of men, according to experts at koç University Hospital and Medicana International Istanbul Hospital. The technology could perhaps reduce the need for invasive surgical procedures to retrieve sperm for in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Azoospermia is defined as the absence of sperm in semen, though some men may have very few sperm present. Traditionally, locating viable sperm requires painstaking microscopic examination by embryologists, or in certain specific cases, surgical sperm retrieval from the testicles.
recent studies demonstrate AI’s potential to accelerate and improve sperm detection. Prof. Dr. Barış Ata of Koç University Hospital’s In vitro Fertilization and Reproductive Health Center, notes the advantage of AI in image processing, stating, “It is not surprising that image processing systems…work algorithmically, use optical systems better than the human eye, and are trained are more successful than humans, or at least faster and more stable.”
A study highlighted by Prof. Dr. Selman Laçin of Medicana International Istanbul Hospital analyzed 2.5 million images from sperm video footage using AI,successfully detecting sperm within approximately two hours. “This shows that AI can now be easily used in the field of in vitro fertilization,” Dr. Laçin explained. “in this respect, it can be interpreted as a stimulating and promising study.”
While experts caution that AI cannot create sperm, the technology offers the potential to increase the chances of finding sperm in samples were they are present, thereby increasing the possibility of pregnancy. Prof. Ata emphasized, “As an imaging technology cannot be expected to produce sperm in the absence of sperm, it would not be correct to say ’the end of male infertility has come.'”
The development represents a significant step forward in reproductive technology,offering a less invasive and potentially more effective approach to treating male infertility.
