AI Tech Helps Infertile Man Become Father After 19 Years

Artificial Intelligence is quietly rewriting medical history — this time, in the world of fertility. Researchers at Columbia University have developed a groundbreaking system called Sperm Tracking and Recovery (STAR) that can locate even the rarest sperm cells in men once believed to be completely infertile.

In a remarkable first, STAR has already helped a U.S. couple conceive after 19 long years of unsuccessful fertility treatments. The man, 39, and his 37-year-old wife had endured multiple IVF cycles and two surgical sperm extractions, only to face disappointment each time.

Then came STAR — an AI-guided, non-invasive device capable of scanning over a million microscopic images every hour. When the man’s semen sample appeared completely devoid of sperm, STAR’s algorithm continued its search relentlessly, examining more than 2.5 million images over two hours before identifying two viable sperm cells. Those two cells changed everything.

For millions of men, infertility often means navigating years of painful procedures and emotional setbacks. Conditions like azoospermia, where no sperm are found in semen, or cryptozoospermia, where they exist but are nearly impossible to detect, have long left couples with few options besides donor sperm or adoption.

The STAR system offers a ray of hope. As the semen flows through a specially designed microchip, AI scans it in real time, detecting and isolating potential sperm safely into tiny compartments. These can then be used in procedures like intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) — where a single sperm is injected directly into an egg.

Unlike traditional techniques that rely on manual searching and surgical extraction, STAR’s approach is faster, safer, and fully enclosed, ensuring both precision and sterility. Every component used in the process is single-use, minimizing the risk of contamination.

This breakthrough could transform how fertility clinics approach severe male infertility. If validated through larger trials, STAR might redefine what’s possible — giving countless men a chance at biological fatherhood, once thought to be out of reach.