A new AI breakthrough helped one couple get pregnant after 19 years
For nearly 19 years, Rosie and her husband tried to grow their family. Their journey spanned 15 IVF cycles, countless doctor visits, and emotional highs and lows that left them exhausted but still hopeful. Each attempt came with the quiet ache of disappointment. Still, they held onto their dream.
In March 2025, something changed. Doctors at Columbia University Fertility Center helped the couple achieve what had always felt just out of reach—a successful pregnancy. What made the difference wasn't a new medication or procedure, but a breakthrough in reproductive science: artificial intelligence.
An AI-powered tool, developed by a team led by Dr. Zev Williams, found what doctors had never been able to detect in her husband's semen sample—viable sperm. That discovery led to the first pregnancy in the world using this new technology.
Fertility care has long focused on women, despite male factors contributing to nearly 40% of infertility cases. Azoospermia—a condition where no sperm are found in the ejaculate—is among the most challenging to treat. Even with advanced microscopes, sperm can be nearly impossible to detect, and options are often limited to surgery or donor sperm.
For many couples, especially those with religious or cultural reasons to avoid donor conception, that leaves few alternatives. This gap in care points to a longstanding imbalance in how reproductive health is evaluated.
The system, called STAR (Sperm Track and Recovery), is designed specifically to help address cases of azoospermia in a noninvasive and sperm-preserving way—offering a long-overdue shift in how male infertility is approached.
Related: The Truth about Men's Infertility
To tackle azoospermia, researchers at Columbia University developed STAR, which uses artificial intelligence and a microfluidic chip to scan millions of microscopic images, identifying and isolating rare sperm that would otherwise go unnoticed.
If sperm are detected, the system isolates and collects them—gently enough for use in IVF. In tests, STAR found dozens of sperm in samples that human embryologists had spent days analyzing without success.
The inspiration came from astronomy, where AI helps identify stars in a sky full of noise. Here, that same approach is applied to a biological universe—scanning, detecting, and isolating microscopic sperm. When STAR detects sperm, it diverts that tiny portion for collection, preserving viable cells for fertilization.
In one early test, embryologists spent two days combing through a sample without success. STAR found 44 sperm in under an hour. It's offering new hope for couples who were once told they had no options.
This marks the first reported case where AI has been used not only to detect sperm in complex samples, but also to physically recover them for use in fertility treatment—offering new hope to families who previously had few or no options.
Related: It's time to stop calling infertility a women's health issue
For nearly two decades, Rosie and her husband dreamed of starting a family. After 15 unsuccessful IVF cycles and years of searching for answers, they were told that her husband's azoospermia left them with few options beyond using donor sperm—something they weren't ready to accept.
Then they heard about STAR.
Through a community group, Rosie connected with Dr. Zev Williams' team and learned about the new AI technology. For the first time, there was a tool that could potentially find viable sperm in a noninvasive, chemical-free way. That was enough to give them the courage to try one more cycle.
This time, STAR found sperm—enough to fertilize Rosie's eggs. Just days later, she got the call she never thought she'd receive: she was pregnant. Now four months along, she says she still wakes up in disbelief. But the scans are real—and so is her baby.
Related: The powerful documentary 'One More Shot' captures infertility on film like never before
The success of STAR marks a technological milestone and signals a new frontier in understanding and treating infertility. Traditionally, couples facing azoospermia had few options beyond donor sperm. Now, STAR offers a potential path forward by making it possible to locate and retrieve even extremely rare sperm without damaging them.
Here's what STAR could mean for the future of fertility care:
Faster, more precise sperm selection: STAR scans millions of frames per hour, identifying and isolating viable sperm in real time.
Expanded options for couples facing male-factor infertility: The technology may help those who were previously told they had no viable options.
Less reliance on invasive or costly procedures: By improving sperm detection, STAR could reduce the need for more aggressive interventions.
A shift in how infertility is approached clinically: STAR's success could signal a broader rethinking of diagnostic and treatment pathways.
Potential to democratize access to advanced fertility care: As the technology becomes more scalable, it may increase availability and affordability.
As Dr. Zev Williams explains, this AI doesn't replace the human touch; it extends it. With STAR, the goal is to give couples facing daunting odds a better chance—something that's long felt out of reach.
AI is reshaping how fertility challenges are diagnosed and treated, and families are already seeing the impact. Tools like STAR are helping doctors detect what once seemed impossible, offering new paths forward after years of heartbreak.
As research continues, innovations like this could give more families a clearer path to parenthood—with less uncertainty and more hope.
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