AI system
- System
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STAR (Sperm Tracking and Recovery): a semen sample flows through a single-use microfluidic chip while a high-speed camera (about 300 frames per second, over 8 million images an hour) images it; an AI object-detection model flags sperm among cellular debris in real time and a microfluidic gate or robotic step diverts each flagged sperm into a droplet for immediate injection or freezing
- Model
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A detector from the YOLO family.
Editor’s note. INCIID names “YOLOv8 Architecture” (reference 25), whereas Columbia’s patent illustrates a “YOLOv4 object detection model” (reference 31, figures 4–5). Neither source identifies the version used for this pregnancy.
- Release
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Exact detector release not established.
- Application developer
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Columbia University, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (team led by Zev Williams and Hemant Suryawanshi) - Role
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The detector located sperm in microscope images so that the retrieval system could recover them.
- Configuration
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Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
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STAR examined about 2.5 million images of a sample that manual examiners had considered sperm-free. It recovered seven sperm, two of them motile. Embryologists injected the two motile sperm into eggs, cultured two embryos, and transferred them on day three.
- Human oversight
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Embryologists injected the two motile sperm into eggs, cultured the embryos, and transferred them. Clinicians provided subsequent obstetric care.
- Relation to AI
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The detector flagged seven sperm, two motile, in roughly 2.5 million frames of a 3.5 mL sample that manual examination had called sperm-free. The microfluidic recovery step delivered them intact. Without a usable sperm the couple's remaining options were donor sperm or adoption. Everything after that was conventional IVF done by people. Embryologists injected the two motile sperm into one fresh and one thawed egg, cultured two embryos and transferred them on day 3. Obstetric care followed. Limits on the attribution: the much-quoted comparison (44 sperm in an hour after two days of manual search) concerns a different sample. Whether a longer manual search of this sample would have found the two sperm was not tested. The letter's model version is not stated in any source on record (INCIID reports a YOLOv8 architecture, Columbia's patent filings describe YOLOv4).
- AI contribution
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STAR detected seven sperm, including two motile sperm, in a sample that manual examination had classified as sperm-free. The system recovered them for use in IVF.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
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Not assessed
- Benefit
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STAR recovered two motile sperm that clinicians used in IVF. The couple conceived and had a daughter after 19 years of infertility.
- Category
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Improved Physical Health
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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People. Organizations.
- Beneficiaries
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The couple who underwent treatment at Columbia University Fertility Center.
- Reach
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One couple.
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
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Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
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Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
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Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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One 3.5 mL semen sample from a 39-year-old man with non-obstructive azoospermia.
- Measures
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Sperm recovered, sperm motility, pregnancy, and live birth.
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Results
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In this sample, STAR recovered seven sperm after manual examination had found none. News reports give sperm recovery in roughly 26% to 30% of a series of 175 cases. The clinic separately reports that about 20% of mature eggs fertilize and about 18% of fertilized eggs become good-quality embryos. These figures describe different stages, not an overall chance of a live birth.
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
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The comparison of 44 sperm found in an hour concerns another sample. This study did not test whether a longer manual search would have found the sperm. The evidence includes one peer-reviewed case and clinic-reported series, without a controlled trial or a published overall pregnancy success rate as of August 2026.
- Denominators
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Not assessed
- Materials for replication
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Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
-
Not assessed
- Amount
-
Not assessed
- Currency and prices
-
Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
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Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
-
Not assessed
- Gross or net
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Not assessed
- Included costs
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Method
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Not assessed
- Return and payback
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Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
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Developer:
Columbia University, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (team led by Zev Williams and Hemant Suryawanshi). Operator: Columbia University, New York (used on its own patient). - Jurisdictions
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Benefit: New York,
United States. Developer: United States. Operator: United States. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
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Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
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Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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The sample must contain sperm. A fertility laboratory must be able to recover viable sperm and use them for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, then culture and transfer embryos.
- Replication attempts
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Not assessed
- Later findings
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30 April 2026. By April 2026 the first STAR baby, a girl, had been born at the end of 2025, STAR was in regular use at Columbia with hundreds on the waiting list, sperm had been found in just under 30% of the latest 175 patients, and a second pregnancy (from testicular tissue, a boy due July 2026) was reported; Medical Daily (August 2026) notes that only one pregnancy has been published in peer-reviewed form.
- Availability
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As described in the sources, three STAR systems operated at one New York clinic. An analysis cost US$3,000, or US$1,500 if no sperm were found, and was not billable to insurance.
- Institutional decision
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Not assessed
- Grounds
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Not assessed
- Action and result
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Not assessed
- Success criterion
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Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
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AIBD-0151-source-0001–0033
- Citations
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Numbered references below.
- Language
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Not assessed
- Source relationships
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Developer, Independent
- Original evidence
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Not assessed
- Access and versions
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Not assessed
- Supported findings
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Not assessed
- Evidence links
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Not assessed
- Evidence strength
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Not assessed
- Missing evidence
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Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
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People. Organizations.
- Depth
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People: 3. Organizations: 2.
- Reasons
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The couple had a healthy daughter after 19 years of infertility, 15 failed IVF cycles, and two surgical sperm extractions. Columbia published the clinical result and introduced STAR as a paid service. The evidence establishes a major benefit for this couple, without establishing the treatment’s overall success rate.
- Observed or intended
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Not assessed
- Rubric
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Not assessed
- Assessor and date
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Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
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Not assessed
- Fill
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Independently studied
Entry details
- Kind
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Not assessed
- Related entries
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Not assessed
- Field
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Healthcare - reproductive medicine (IVF for non-obstructive azoospermia). Academic fertility clinic and IVF laboratory.
- Purpose
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STAR (Sperm Tracking and Recovery) was built over about five years at the Columbia University Fertility Center. It finds, and recovers undamaged, the few sperm in semen samples of men with azoospermia or cryptozoospermia. They can then be used for IVF by intracytoplasmic sperm injection. This pregnancy was exactly that intended use and its first clinical result.
- Dates
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Date basis unassessed: 2025 (precision unassessed). Updated: 25 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
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SHA-256: 24833b4ff5af…
References
- Other identifiers
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oecd_aim: 2025-11-03-2f05.
- Category mappings
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Not assessed
- Brief
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Not assessed
- Revisions
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8 revisions. Latest: 25 October 2026.
Sources
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Peer-reviewed study Developer
Suryawanshi H, Gemmell LC, Morgan S, Koustas G, Prosser RW, Fu R, Forman EJ, Williams Z (2025). First clinical pregnancy following AI-based microfluidic sperm detection and recovery in non-obstructive azoospermia. The Lancet 406(10516):2213-2214, research letter published online 31 October 2025 (received 15 May, accepted 4 August 2025), PMID 41183539. Written by the team that developed STAR; the clinical figures are reported by the press release, PTI, the Free Press Journal, StudyFinds and Republic World.
First clinical pregnancy following AI-based microfluidic sperm detection and recovery in non-obstructive azoospermia
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Peer-reviewed study Developer
Gemmell LC, Suryawanshi H, Williams Z (2026). AI-based techniques in sperm detection. Current Opinion in Urology, published 22 July 2026. Review by the STAR team; abstract read on Europe PMC.
Early clinical data suggest these approaches may enable sperm recovery in patients previously considered sperm-negative by conventional methods.
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Report Independent author
INCIID, The InterNational Council on Infertility Information Dissemination (2026). STAR (Sperm Tracking and Recovery) System. inciid.org, 14 May 2026 (modified 5 October 2026). Patient-organisation summary: YOLOv8 detector with precision 0.89 and recall 0.90, about 40 times more sperm than manual search, and patent applications filed by Columbia.
The technology integrates high-speed imaging, artificial intelligence, microfluidics, and robotics to perform non-invasive sperm detection and retrieval.
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News report Independent author
Malhi S (2025). AI helps find viable sperm in infertility case. The Washington Post, 27 June 2025. Quotes two uninvolved specialists, Robert Brannigan (ASRM president-elect) and Allison K. Rodgers, in support, and one sceptic, Gianpiero Palermo.
Researchers at the Columbia University Fertility Center say this procedure, conducted in March, amounts to the first-known use of AI-enabled conception using this particular technology.
You are attracting patients who have been told they have no sperm and offering what may turn out to be false hope
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News report Independent author
Park A (2025). Doctors Report the First Pregnancy Using a New AI Procedure. TIME, 10 June 2025. First report of the pregnancy: the wife, given the pseudonym Rosie, 38, became pregnant in March 2025 after nearly 19 years and 15 unsuccessful IVF cycles.
The system can scan eight million images in about an hour.
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News report Independent author
Howard J (2025). A couple tried for 18 years to get pregnant. AI made it happen. CNN, 3 July 2025. Gives the December due date and Williams' estimate of a little under $3,000 to find, isolate and freeze sperm.
hidden sperm were found, recovered and used to fertilize the wife’s eggs via IVF, and she became the first successful pregnancy enabled by the STAR method
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News report Independent author
FemTech World News Desk (2025). Doctors report first pregnancy using AI system to detect sperm in men previously considered infertile. FemTech World, 13 June 2025.
scan around eight million images in an hour
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News report Independent author
Park A (2025). Columbia University STAR method. TIME, The Best Inventions of 2025, 9 October 2025.
After 20 years of trying, the first couple to use STAR is expecting their first child this year.
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News report Independent author
Quintanar S (2025). This AI-imaging tech from Columbia researchers is solving male infertility. Columbia Daily Spectator, 26 October 2025 (student newspaper; confirms the 15 unsuccessful IVF cycles).
After trying to conceive for nearly two decades, a couple successfully received a positive pregnancy test after using the STAR system.
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News report Independent author
PTI via The Economic Times (2025). How AI helped an infertile couple conceive after 19 years with just '2 sperm'. The Economic Times, 3 November 2025; one of the fourteen sources cited by the OECD Monitor. Gives 2.5 million images over two hours, seven sperm of which two viable, positive test 13 days after transfer, and a heartbeat of 172 beats per minute at eight weeks.
picked out just two healthy sperm cells, helping a US couple conceive after 19 years of trying, a report in The Lancet said
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News report Independent author
Kanchwala T (2025). How AI Helped This Couple Get Pregnant After 19-Year Wait. Free Press Journal, 4 November 2025; cited by the OECD Monitor. Gives the 3.5 mL sample judged sperm-free by manual checks, day-3 transfer, positive test 13 days later and transition to standard obstetric care.
Over approximately two hours, the AI processed a staggering 2.5 million images, detecting seven individual sperm cells: two motile (capable of movement) and five non-motile.
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News report Independent author
Pathak P (2025). After 19 Years of Infertility, AI Finds 2 Sperm from 2.5 Million Images; Couple Welcomes Miracle Baby. Republic World, 4 November 2025; cited by the OECD Monitor. Reports 19 egg-retrieval cycles at four fertility centres and a confirmed pregnancy at eight weeks; the headline's 'welcomes miracle baby' is ahead of its own text, which reports a pregnancy, not a birth.
In just two hours, the STAR system scanned 2.5 million microscopic images of the man's semen sample and detected seven sperm, two of which were alive and motile.
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News report Independent author
David A (2025). AI Helps Couple Conceive After 20 Years Of Infertility: A Medical Breakthrough From Columbia University. The Daily Jagran, 4 November 2025; cited by the OECD Monitor.
the STAR system identified seven sperm cells; two of which were active.
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News report Independent author
Pall O (2025). After 19 Years Of Failed IVF Attempts, AI Helps Couple Conceive In Groundbreaking First. Mashable India, 5 November 2025; cited by the OECD Monitor.
Experts caution that while this case is inspiring, it represents an early-stage success. Larger-scale trials are needed before AI-assisted sperm detection becomes standard clinical practice.
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News report Independent author
Anderer J (2025). AI detects invisible sperm, leads to couple's first pregnancy after 19 years. StudyFinds, 3 November 2025. Reports from the letter: 19 egg retrievals across four centres over 11 years, two testicular extractions, one fresh and one thawed egg injected with the motile sperm, two non-motile sperm injected without progression, day-3 transfer, 8 weeks with a fetal heart rate of 172, Havens Innovation Fund support, and patent applications held by Suryawanshi and Williams through Columbia.
the first reported clinical pregnancy resulting from AI-guided sperm recovery
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News report Independent author
Hong A-reum (2025). AI pinpoints rare sperm and enables successful IVF pregnancy in US study. Chosunbiz, 1 November 2025.
STAR analyzes more than 8 million microscopic semen images per hour.
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News report Independent author
Jo G (2025). "AI Finds 'Miracle' Sperm": Man with Azoospermia Achieves First Pregnancy with His Own Sperm. DongA Science, 3 November 2025.
A recent study reported a successful pregnancy after using AI to find two sperm in the semen of a patient with azoospermia.
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News report Independent author
Cerati F (2025). First baby thanks to artificial intelligence and robots: a breakthrough in male infertility. Il Sole 24 Ore (English edition), 3 November 2025; despite the headline, the text reports a pregnancy, not a birth.
It only takes one healthy spermatozoon to create an embryo
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News report Independent author
Dixit M (2025). ‘STAR is born’: Breakthrough AI helps infertile man father child after 20 years. Interesting Engineering, 31 October 2025 (HTML title: Columbia University reports first pregnancy using AI sperm recovery). Notes the result is based on a single case.
being further evaluated through larger clinical studies
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News report Independent author
Kohli KK (2025). First pregnancy with AI-guided sperm recovery method developed at Columbia: Study. Medical Dialogues, 24 December 2025; confirms the Lancet item is a research letter.
The case is described in a research letter published in The Lancet.
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News report Independent author
Padhy K (2026). Finding 'hidden sperm': New technique offers hope to men previously told they were infertile. BBC Future, 30 April 2026. Reports the birth at the end of 2025, sperm found in just under 30% of the latest 175 patients, and a second STAR pregnancy (a Klinefelter patient's micro-TESE tissue).
the first baby to be born using the Star system allowed a couple who had battled with infertility for almost two decades to finally have a child
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News report Independent author
The first baby born to a dad with the diagnosis using STAR was born in December.
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News report Independent author
Jo G (2026). Columbia University AI STAR system finds sperm, helps couples with azoospermia conceive. DongA Science, 3 May 2026. Also reports sperm found in about 30% of 175 patients.
The first baby born through STAR is a healthy girl.
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News report Independent author
Sperm were found after the 39-year-old man’s sample was run through the Star system, and that couple now has a baby girl.
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News report Independent author
Vega E (2026). A New Imaging Method Finds Sperm That Standard Laboratory Review Misses, with Limited Published Results So Far. Medical Daily, 12 August 2026. Notes one published pregnancy, no controlled trials and no published success rates.
slow, physically fatiguing and inherently incomplete: a technician cannot examine every field of view in a sample within a workable timeframe.
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Press release Developer
Columbia University Irving Medical Center (2025). First pregnancy with AI-guided sperm recovery method developed at Columbia. Press release via EurekAlert!, 31 October 2025. Gives 3.5 mL sample, 2.5 million images in about two hours, two viable sperm, two embryos; funding from the Havens Innovation Fund.
You only need one healthy sperm to create an embryo
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Press release Developer
Columbia University Fertility Center (2026). Sperm Tracking and Recovery (STAR). Service page on columbiadoctors.org, fetched 20 October 2026. Prices the analysis at $3,000 ($1,500 if no sperm are found), not billable to insurance, and reports about 28% of prior-azoospermia patients with sperm found, about 20% of mature eggs fertilising and about 18% of fertilised eggs reaching good-quality embryos.
STAR achieved its first reported pregnancy in March 2025.
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Press release Developer
Columbia University Fertility Center (2025). Columbia Fertility Looks to the Stars to Help Men with Infertility. columbiadoctors.org, dated 9 October 2025, fetched 20 October 2026. The Internet Archive copy of 1 November 2025 ends the couple's sentence 'and start a pregnancy'; the live page now reads 'and deliver a healthy baby girl', so the birth was added after that date.
Since STAR was unveiled in 2024, it has been used to help dozens of patients at the Columbia University Fertility Center.
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Press release Developer
Gary H (2025). Columbia Develops STAR Technology for Men with Infertility. Columbia Medicine magazine, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Fall 2025.
like trying to find a needle hidden among a thousand haystacks—but doing it within one hour
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Press release Developer
NewYork-Presbyterian (2025). Ep38: Building an AI-Powered System to Improve Fertility Success. Advances in Care podcast with Zev Williams, 7 August 2025.
about four months pregnant with a healthy, ongoing pregnancy
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Other Developer
Williams SZ, Suryawanshi H; The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York (2025). Systems and Methods for Identifying and Recovering Rare Biological Cells from a Sample. US patent application US20250264398A1, priority 27 July 2022, published 21 August 2025; describes a YOLO (YOLOv4) detector, 100-500 frames per second and a flow channel 10-50 micrometres high.
Biological cells can be identified and recovered from a sample by pumping the sample through a flow channel
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Other Developer
Williams SZ, Suryawanshi H; The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York (2026). Microfluidic device for recovering rare biological cells from a sample. PCT application WO2026019779A1, priority 17 July 2024, published 22 January 2026.
Sperm cells can be extracted from a sample by passing the sample through a microfluidic device, capturing images of the sample