In Guadalajara, Mexico, startup clinic Conceivable Life Sciences is making robots that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accelerate the embryo production processes for in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
Conceivable Life Sciences claims to be the first company to robotically accomplish intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI or “icksee”), according to footage Conceivable shared with Business Insider.
The robots are in a prototype stage, but have allegedly brought about eleven successful pregnancies, Conceivable claims, International Business Times reports.
The robots intervene to immobilize the sperm by lasers, sucking it into needles that are inserted into the eggs, Business Insider reports. After incubation, the embryos are frozen in liquid nitrogen “on a microscopic tennis racket,” the outlet states.
Robots and AI are being used to help women get pregnant. Is this the future of IVF?#Robots #IVF #AI https://t.co/7VUrLSDrJD pic.twitter.com/4Fp93zssNr
— Business Insider India🇮🇳 (@BiIndia) May 19, 2024
Last December, Conceivable’s chief scientific officer, Jacques Cohen, guided the robots on his computer in New York through ICSI process happening in Mexico, Business Insider reports. The embryo he concocted was “transferred” February 23, resulting in a pregnancy, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Republican Gov Signs Law Protecting IVF After Landmark Ruling Declared Frozen Embryos ‘Children’)
The AI-guided laser uses “fluid dynamics” to position the sperm at the egg’s midpoint, then asks the scientists if they are “ready to inject,” Business Insider reports. After the needle holding the sperm cuts into the egg’s membrane, the robot releases the sperm with “a little puff of air” and retracts the outlet states.
In the past, embryologists combined the eggs with sperm in a “labor intensive process,” according to International Business Times.
Conceivable claims to be working toward making IVF more accessible and affordable, charging $15,000 “only if the treatment is successful,” Best of AI reports. The company has raised $20 million in venture capital and intends to launch another study in Mexico City in September, the outlet reports.
