An Algorithm May Soon Help People Make Babies
Companies are developing embryo selection algorithms aimed at boosting the success of IVF
After two years of grueling attempts at in vitro fertilization (IVF) — in which eggs and sperm are combined outside the body, and the resulting embryos are transferred to the womb — Australian couple Lorraine and James Coriakula finally got pregnant and gave birth to a son, Ebenezer, in October. A machine-learning algorithm might have helped.
In early 2020, the Coriakulas visited a Melbourne clinic that’s using new artificial intelligence software to select embryos for IVF. While the embryo selection process is usually done by humans, the software developed by startup Life Whisperer of Adelaide, Australia, scans images of embryos and judges which look healthy. The company claims Ebenezer is the first successful birth from an embryo selected by its A.I. software.
As the average age of pregnancy increases, more people are turning to assisted reproductive technology to help conceive. Birth rates from IVF are getting better, but it can still take multiple tries to get pregnant. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42% of patients age 35 to 37 who use their own eggs have a baby after their first round of IVF, but that rate declines significantly…
