Robotic fertilization resulted in the birth of two baby girls
In an unprecedented development, the first babies conceived with a robot injecting sperm have been born. According to MIT’s Technology ReviewA team of engineers from Barcelona, Spain, used a robotic needle to insert sperm cells into eggs at the New Hope Fertility Center in New York City. The process resulted in two healthy embryos and eventually two baby girls.
according to the report, One of the engineers working on the world’s first insemination robot didn’t have much experience in the field of fertility medicine.
”One of the engineers, who has no real experience in fertility medicine, used a Sony PlayStation 5 controller to insert the robotic needle. Looking at a human egg through a camera, it moved forward on its own, penetrating the egg and dropping off a sperm cell,” the report said.
The resulting healthy embryos have led to the birth of two baby girls, the first to be born after robotic fertilization. MIT Technology Review where did it go.
Experts say that the state-of-the-art procedure can bring down the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) significantly.
The startup company that developed the robot, Overture Life, said its device is an initial step toward automating IVF, potentially making the process less expensive and far more common.
Currently, IVF laboratories require expensive and trained embryologists who handle eggs and sperm using ultra-thin hollow needles under microscopes. The process is delicate, long and labor-intensive. About 500,000 babies are born through IVF each year, but many people don’t have access to fertility medicine or can’t afford it.
“The technology could one day eliminate the need for patients to go to a fertility clinic, where one attempt to get pregnant can cost $20,000 in the US,” said Santiago Munne, chief geneticist at Overture Life, which developed the sperm robot.
“Think of a box where sperm and eggs go in, and an embryo comes out five days later,” he said.