In Mexico, the world’s first child was born, whose conception took place without the participation of an embryologist: fertilization was carried out by a robotic system with artificial intelligence that fully automates the process of introducing a sperm into an egg. This became a breakthrough in the field of reproductive medicine, informs Daily Star.
The woman who took part in the experiment could not get pregnant for a long time. Previous in vitro fertilization was unsuccessful. Doctors suggested using a new development by researchers from the USA and Mexico — a device that automatically performs all 23 stages of microinjection of a sperm into an egg using the ICSI method.
In classic ICSI, the embryologist performs the procedure manually, which creates the risk of errors due to fatigue, stress or loss of concentration. The new system automates the entire process — from the selection of the sperm to its introduction into the egg. Artificial intelligence analyzes the state of the cells, immobilizes the sperm with a laser, selects the highest quality and injects it with high precision.
As noted by Professor Gerardo Mendisabal-Ruiz, this allows minimizing the influence of the human factor and increasing the efficiency of fertilization. On average, the procedure takes up to 10 minutes per egg, but it is planned to speed it up in the future.
Five eggs were used for the procedure: four were processed by a robot, three by hand, for comparison. The first implanted embryo created by the system did not take root. The next attempt was successful – the first child was born, the conception of which took place without the participation of a person.
Currently, the technology remains experimental and expensive. However, experts recognize its potential: automated systems can increase the chances of successful conception, reduce the burden on doctors and make the result more stable.
