For nearly 19 years, Rosie and her husband held onto hope that they would someday become parents.
Their dream finally took a leap forward in March 2025, when they learned they were expecting after an innovative AI system changed everything. For years, doctors could do little for cases of azoospermia, a condition in which no sperm are detectable in a man’s semen, aside from suggesting donor sperm. This issue contributes to almost ten percent of all male infertility, leaving countless couples in a frustrating limbo year after year.
When Dr. Zev Williams and his team at Columbia University Fertility Center set out to tackle this problem, they turned to AI as their secret weapon. They created a system known as STAR, or Sperm Track and Recovery, which uses an advanced algorithm to sift through semen samples and pluck out even the rarest sperm cells. By channeling the sample through a special plastic chip, STAR can spot single sperm that highly trained embryologists might never find, gathering them so they can be stored, frozen, or used for fertilization. Dr. Williams draws inspiration from astrophysics, saying if AI can scan a star-filled sky, why not apply similar logic to the hunt for elusive sperm cells?
Revolutionizing Infertility Treatments with AI
STAR can process nearly eight million microscopic images in an hour, which is game changing in cases where conventional searches yield nothing after days of work. Williams remembers being stunned when the AI found 44 sperm in a sample previously declared hopeless by his team. Rosie and her husband, guided by their faith and persistent determination, spent years trying everything from surgery to chemical extraction methods, but with no luck until they discovered what STAR could offer.
For Rosie, battling against the fertility clock meant every new failed cycle felt heavier than the last. After connecting with Williams’ team, she dove into learning about STAR, impressed that this AI could find healthy sperm naturally without harmful chemicals. The process for them was surprisingly simple—they went through their most recent IVF attempt as usual, keeping their expectations modest after so many setbacks.
She describes entering the clinic with quiet hope, prepared for another disappointment, but this time the news changed their lives. Instead of facing another failed cycle, they heard that Rosie’s eggs had been fertilized with sperm recovered by the AI, marking a breakthrough after almost two decades of trying. Within two hours, doctors confirmed the eggs had successfully been fertilized, and just days later, Rosie received the positive pregnancy result.
Now, she’s four months pregnant, still marveling at what she calls a “miracle” every day. According to Dr. Williams, the applications of AI in infertility are just getting started. He believes many current infertility challenges may be solvable as AI continues opening doors, giving hope to others who have been told parenthood is out of reach.
