What is AI (Artificial Intelligence) and how is it being used in the World of Infertility?

What is AI (Artificial Intelligence) and how is it being used in the World of Infertility?

AI is the use of machines that, through mathematical algorithms, attempt to automate decisions or analyses that would otherwise be made by a human. I know we’ve all heard about ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a form of AI developed by OpenAI and launched November 30, 2022. It can help its users in many ways, navigating a conversation, creating an email, description about a product, slides for a lecture, etc. Recently, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has gained traction in healthcare for its ability to predict clinical outcomes using large amounts of information of routinely obtained information, such as patient characteristics, testing results (images or bloodwork), and even help inform a patient’s treatment plan.

How is this technology currently being applied in a Fertility Clinic? There are currently companies that provide AI for:

• improving the patient’s clinic experience,

• follicle counting during your monitoring ultrasound,

• stimulation response assessment and recommendations,

• sperm selection / oocyte selection at the time of fertilization, and

• cryo-management of all gametes (eggs/ sperm/ embryos) in storage.

I haven't used company names intentionally, but did you know that these are all currently being offered to fertility clinics across the country? Do you know if your clinic incorporates AI in any of their processes? As a believer in technology and continued progress, I am excited to see AI enter our field. That said, we always want to be sure that the technology doesn’t outpace what we know, and that we are incorporating these technologies thoughtfully and safely.