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A new study in South Korea and Singapore is developing an AI-guided method of detecting hidden infertility in Asian men.
Dr Huang Zhongwei, an adjunct assistant professor and deputy director of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Bia-Echo Asia Centre for Reproductive Longevity and Equality (ACRLE) under the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), is leading a research team with Associate Professor Lee Jae Ho of the the private CHA University in South Korea to develop a diagnostic support tool for identifying male infertility.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
The cross-country research team conducted a study using retrospective data from Korean couples going through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), including their clinical data, embryological data, semen analyses, sperm images, and computer-assisted sperm analyses.
In an interview with Mobihealth News, A/Prof Lee said that the team identified through AI-assisted data analysis a correlation between a specific sperm motility pattern and embryonic aneuploidy in resulting zygotes, achieving around 70% diagnostic accuracy.
This finding, he said, may help explain cases of unexplained male infertility and help doctors determine whether a PGT-A (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy) is needed during IVF.
The research team is now preparing for a prospective study, with clinical approval pending from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The team also seeks further validation of their study to ensure its applicability across Asian populations. A validation study in Singapore is likely, as its multiethnic population is a suitable cohort, Dr Huang said.
"As data on Asian fertility is limited, we aim to gather and curate robust, multifaceted data in the Asian population before analysing them using AI technologies, such as machine learning."
For a comprehensive, integrated assessment of men's actual reproductive potential, the validation data must form an integral part of fertility analyses, along with semen analyses and evaluation of patients' medical history, Dr Huang added.
Moreover, there is potential to translate their AI-enabled research into a new diagnostic device for male infertility diagnosis.
"Following clinical approval, if the accuracy demonstrated in actual clinical application is deemed sufficient, we intend to register this as a new medical technology for the diagnosis of male infertility," A/Prof Lee said.
Meanwhile, Dr Huang maintained that the AI model will serve as an "adjunct" to the management of male fertility issues and to efforts seeking to optimise reproductive outcomes for couples trying to conceive.
WHY IT MATTERS
Millions of couples worldwide reportedly struggle to conceive, with nearly half of cases linked to male infertility – a condition Dr Huang says remains underdiagnosed and undertreated.
Through daily interactions with couples working towards pregnancy, Dr Huang saw the need for more precise strategies to "unravel the multifaceted causes" of male infertility. This led him to collaborate with researchers from CHA University, led by A/Prof Lee, whose research focus is fertility and has utilised AI technologies to assess male fertility.
THE LARGER TREND
Recently, in Hong Kong, researchers introduced what could be the world's first AI model for identifying male sperm fertility potential. Developed by obstetrics and gynaecology researchers at the University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the AI model analyses a sperm's ability to bind to an egg's outer coat with a clinical validation accuracy rate above 96%.
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Responses from Profs Huang and Lee have been edited for clarity and brevity.
