Overture Life has developed a robot for injecting sperm into an egg, paving the way for the automation of IVF
In Italy, in 2020, 80,099 cycles of PMA (Medically Assisted Procreation) both II and III level – which include IVF (in vitro fertilization with transfer of embryos into the uterus), ICSI (in vitro fertilization by injection of sperm into the cytoplasm), FER (fertilization using cryopreserved embryos) and FO (fertilization using cryopreserved oocytes). Numbers that emerge from the last Report of the Minister of Health to Parliament, last November.
In the world, they are 90 million couples experience fertility problems, 25 million in Europe alone, which is the continent where assisted fertilization is used the most: from 100,000 cycles in 1995 to over 800,000 today. Not everyone knows that starting a path of MAP does not always lead to results, on the contrary, various reasons can block the development of the embryo, which is already classified according to size and “quality”. Moreover, the phases that lead a hospital or a specialized center to bring together sperm and egg cells are preceded by a series of procedures, including injections and taking medicines, which make the road winding, putting patients to the test. But technology could make it easier.
Spanish startup Overture Life has made a remotely guided robot with the goal of fertilizing human eggs, without fail. The technique has already led to the birth of two girls. One of the engineers, with no real experience in fertility medicine, used a Sony PlayStation 5 controller to position a robotic needle. Through a camera, the robot then proceeded autonomously, fertilizing a total of a dozen eggs. In itself, the real novelty does not lie so much in the technique itself, which in any case involves the encounter between the sperm and the egg, but in the use of a robot to make the process safer, problem-free and, above all, cheaper. Yes, because traditional assisted fertilization is expensive, e startups like Overture Life work to make the context cheaper and more accessible by automating some parts. A decidedly promising prospect given that the company has raised about 37 million dollars in funding from even famous investors, such as Susan Wojcicki, former CEO of YouTube.
CREDITS: https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/robot-procedure-notext.mp4
Overture Life claims its device is a first step towards the automation of IVF, with the potential to pave the way for an increasing number of such interventions. IVF laboratories are staffed by trained embryologists who must delicately handle sperm and eggs using ultra-thin hollow needles under a microscope. Automating even a small part of the process would mean reducing expenses and allowing more families to pursue their dream. Overture doesn’t stop. The startup has filed a patent application describing a “biochip” for a miniature IVF lab, complete with hidden reservoirs containing growth fluids and tiny channels through which sperm can move.
Towards the automation of in vitro fertilization
«Think of a box where sperm and eggs go in and five days later an embryo comes out», says Santiago Munné, the geneticist who is responsible for innovation at the Spanish company. «If IVF could be done inside a tiny tool, patients might never need to visit a specialty clinic, where a single attempt to get pregnant can cost thousands of dollars in the U.S.» (in Italy we are in the order of 7 thousand euros ed.).
The beauty is that the MIT Technology Review site has identified dozens of startups with similar goals, including AutoIVF, IVF 2.0, Conceiving Life Sciences and Fertilis, proving that the Overtune case may not be isolated, all for the benefit of the patients.
Assisted fertilization, also a cradle to protect the embryos
The main goal of automating IVF, the entrepreneurs say, is simple: have many more children. Around 500,000 babies are born through IVF worldwide each year, but most people who need help with having children either don’t have access to fertility medicine or can’t afford it..
«How do we go from half a million children a year to 30 million?asks David Sable, a former fertility doctor who now manages an investment fund. «You can’t if you run each laboratory like a bespoke artisan kitchen, and this is the challenge facing IVF. While there is no all-in-one fertility machine yet, automating parts of the process, such as sperm injection, egg freezing or embryo care, could also make IVF less expensive and eventually supporting more radical innovations, such as gene editing or even artificial wombs. But fully automating IVF will not be easy. Imagine trying to make a dentist robot. Test-tube conception involves a dozen procedures, and Overture’s robot performs only one so far, and only partially».
CREDITS: https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/better-injection.mp4
A human egg is about 0.1 millimeter in diameter, at the limit of what a human eye can see without any technical support. Right now, to move one, an embryologist must use a hollow needle and place it into a woman’s uterus. An operation that is not without problems, including the fall of the egg itself or an incorrect location between the uterine cavities of a patient. A scenario for which the aforementioned Fertilis is committed, which has thought of a “cradle” in which to place and grow the eggs until they reach the status of embryos. At that point, they can be inserted into the uterus and wait for them to grow. Fertilis, as stated by its founder Jeremy Thompson at MIT, hopes that one day, when doctors collect oocytes from a woman’s ovaries, they can then deposit them directly into a micro-cradle and, from there, treat them by robot monitors, until they become healthy embryos. A step after IVF, with less stress for the patient and the future child.
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