We may be closer to a breakthrough in creating an automated IFV than ever before. According to new reports from MIT Technology Review, a group of engineers was able to use a robot to inject sperm into human eggs successfully. Two babies were born from the process.
The engineers from Barcelona designed the machine which made all of this possible. They shipped the sperm-injecting robot to New York City to a clinic called New Hope Fertility Center to test it. Once there, they put it all back together and then used a PlayStation 5 controller to control the robot as it injected a single sperm into waiting eggs.
Reports state that more than 12 eggs were fertilized by the robot. As mentioned, this procedure resulted in healthy embryos, and two babies were born. This success, they say, could be an essential step towards automated IFV.
Currently, the IFV industry is made up of multimillion-dollar laboratories staffed by trained specialists. But staffing those kinds of facilities means attempts at getting pregnant using IFV can cost up to $20,000 in the United States. This cost can be reduced by a factor of ten with simpler systems.
That’s where the idea behind automated IFV comes into play, and the startup behind this most recent success — a company called Overture — isn’t the only one making strides in the industry. Overture, however, has raised more money than the other companies to reach its goals.
It is currently estimated that roughly 500,000 children are born through IVF globally each year. Despite the high cost of IFV, some people cannot afford the medication or the financial commitment to undergo the procedure. However, an automated system that can be done in a desktop setting could change that.
We’ve seen robots that can melt after they gather intelligence, and now, with robots that can help automate IFV, we’re seeing just how many doors automated machines can open.
Right now, this technology requires a human to control it. It will certainly change over time, so it’ll be fascinating to see how engineers at Overture develop this technology.
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