New AI Software Seeks to Enhance IVF Treatment
Despite recent legislation curbing access to reproductive care for persons living in red states, the emergence of health tech is revolutionizing how individuals manage and control their reproductive choices. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still in its infancy, its applications in fertility treatments are already transforming how doctors diagnose and treat patients, offering a glimpse into a future of personalized and data-driven healthcare.
The San Francisco-based health tech company Alife offers fertility specialists a suite of AI-powered software to assist them in every process of IVF treatment. The company aims to improve outcomes and reduce costs for patients undergoing the procedure by providing more precise and efficient treatment pathways. Raising $22 million in a Series A funding round, Alife developed several AI-operated tools, including Stim Assist and Embryo Predict. Stim Assist optimizes the number of healthy eggs by recommending dosages of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and predicts the best day for retrieval. Their Embryo Predict software analyzes embryos for their likelihood of success and ranks them based on their observations.
Alife’s software uses algorithms created by engineers, scientists, and reproductive specialists and is trained by datasets from fertility clinics worldwide. By analyzing patients’ ancestry, BMI, pre-existing health conditions, and other data, the AI develops patterns and correlations between treatments and outcomes, allowing the AI to make tailored recommendations for clinicians. Dr. Alan Cooperman, founder of the RMA fertility in New York and early adopter of Alife technology, explains, “It’s nice to know a week in advance that there are going to be 15 patients…heading toward an egg retrieval on Sunday because you want to staff the weekend appropriately. It’s also great in visualizing data in advance at various parts because certain people are scheduled depending upon when they get their period.”
On average, patients spend approximately $23,474 for one round of IVF, including medicine. Depending on age, lifestyle, and other individual factors, it can take several rounds of IVF treatments before achieving a successful pregnancy. The procedure can be taxing financially and physically, as women have to endure daily hormone injections that can result in nausea, mood swings, headaches, and more. Technology like the software provided by Alife can ease the financial and physical burden of growing a family through IVF.
However, as AI’s role in healthcare grows, so do concerns about potential biases and disparities. With a lack of diversity in datasets, AI will likely exacerbate existing issues around the lack of inclusion. Founder and CEO of Alife, Paxton Maeder-York states the company has deliberately trained its AI using data “representative of demographics in the United States” to avoid perpetuating systemic inequalities and biased outcomes.
As the number of women opting for motherhood later in life increases, the role of AI in IVF treatments becomes increasingly essential. By the year 2100, IVF is expected to be involved in 3% of all births, making it crucial that these advancements truly serve everyone and do not reinforce existing inequalities in healthcare.
SOURCES
https://www.alifehealth.com/blog/alife-series-a
https://fortune.com/2024/03/18/inside-ai-fertility-femtech-ivf