<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>326701</docID> <postdate>2024-08-15 10:13:16</postdate> <headline>Mechanical engineers make AI sperm health test for IVF</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-326705" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20130514000697345303-original-resized-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="566" /></p> <caption>AI technology may soon be used to select sperm for IVF treatments. (David Crosling/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Holly Hales</strong> in Melbourne</span></p> <p><strong>New AI technology could asses the quality of live sperm in seconds, removing the need for invasive procedures during IVF treatments.</strong></p> <p>Monash University's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering conducted the research in collaboration with Monash IVF and found the model analysed sperm imaging with 93 per cent accuracy.</p> <p>Current clinical practices to evaluate sperm require human analysis and chemical staining of the sperm cells which can cause damage.</p> <p>This new method works on live, unstained sperm - aiming to preserve their viability.</p> <p>Monash IVF chief scientific officer Deirdre Zander-Fox said making the sperm selection process faster could improve outcomes.</p> <p>"Sometimes in IVF, embryologists need to inject a single sperm directly into an egg to increase the chances of fertilisation," Professor Zander-Fox said.</p> <p>"While they are experts at finding the best sperm for this process - sperm that's the right shape and size and moves around freely - it can sometimes take hours to sift through a sample to find the best sperm for injection.</p> <p>"We believe AI can make the process much faster and give patients improved outcomes, while still allowing our highly trained embryologists to have oversight of the process."</p> <p>Mechanical engineer Reza Nosrati said the technology could pave the way for standardised sperm selection through automation in IVF clinical settings.</p> <p>"The consistency and reliability of our AI model provide unprecedented accuracy in live sperm morphology classification," Dr Nosrati said.</p> <p>"By providing a clear and precise analysis of sperm quality, it offers promising opportunities for enhancing clinical sperm selection practices and reducing day-to-day variability in clinics.</p> <p>"With this tool, we hope to improve the outcomes of fertility treatments and offer new hope to couples struggling to conceive."</p> <p>More than eight million babies have been born worldwide using IVF, while about five per cent of Australian children are conceived through in-vitro fertilisation.</p> </body>