Automated oocyte retrieval, sperm preparation, and ICSI in the IVF laboratory: A proof-of-concept study and report of the first live births.
Chavez Badiola et al., 2025
The day of egg retrieval (Day 0) involves several critical steps in the IVF laboratory, including searching for eggs in follicular fluid, preparing sperm, removing the surrounding cells from eggs (denudation), and performing sperm injection (a procedure called ICSI). This proof-of-concept study presents a combination of three automated systems that can perform most of these Day 0 tasks with human oversight rather than hands-on manipulation.
The automated systems were tested in 11 patients, with oocytes divided between automated and manual procedures. The automated systems achieved 64.3% fertilization and 42.2% usable blastocyst formation, meeting established competency benchmarks. Of twelve single embryo transfers from the automated arm, five resulted in live births. These are the first reported live births from embryos created through sequential automated IVF procedures.
While some steps still required operator intervention or digital control, the results demonstrate that automation can produce viable embryos and healthy babies. This work supports further investigation and phased integration of automation in the IVF laboratory to help standardize procedures and reduce operator variability for better outcomes.