Automating day 0 in the IVF laboratory: clinical validation of a three-stage workflow resulting in first pregnancies
Chavez-Badiola et al., Human Reproduction, 2025
The first day after egg retrieval (day 0) involves several critical steps in the IVF laboratory, including searching for eggs, preparing sperm, and performing ICSI. This study presents and validates a fully automated system that can perform all these day 0 tasks without human hands-on involvement. The robotic system includes three main components: one for finding and processing eggs from the fluid collected during egg retrieval, another for preparing sperm, and a third for performing ICSI (injecting sperm into eggs). The system was tested in clinical practice with real patients and achieved laboratory results comparable to traditional manual methods. Importantly, the automated system resulted in the first reported pregnancies from fully automated IVF procedures. This breakthrough demonstrates that automation can standardize these complex procedures while maintaining the quality needed for successful pregnancies.