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Conceived By Robots: Scientists can now help make babies using a surgical robot and a PS5 controller

Scientists at a Spanish medical startup are now helping women who can't conceive, get pregnant using surgical robots, a specially coded programme and a PS5 controller.

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Mehul Reuben Das|Apr 27, 2023, 16:48:41 IST

With the kind of technological advancements we have made in the field of robotics, and just how precise surgical robots have become, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that scientists have revolutionised how human beings are being conceived. A group of scientists and engineers from a Spanish company called Overture Life have managed to do just that.

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As revolutionary as IVF or in-vitro fertilisation has been for humans, it remains to be a treatment that only the extremely wealthy can afford. In the US, where Overture Life are based out of, IVF treatments start at $20,000 for one implantation session and then go up from there. A similar session in India will set you back by at least Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 3 lakhs if you’re lucky. 

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That is why, doctors and medical researchers have been trying to come up with more affordable ways to go about IVFs, that have better chances than traditional IVFs. This is where Overture Life comes in.

Last spring, engineers from Overture Life used a surgical robot, that was controlled using a PS5 controller and used it to insert a robotic needle with a single, live sperm cell into a human egg. After that, their sperm-injecting robot was utilised to fertilise over a dozen eggs.

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As a result, they had several healthy embryos and now, months later two newborn girls, whom the team claims are the first people to be "conceived" by a "robot."

"Imagine a box where sperm and eggs go in and an embryo comes out five days later," says Santiago Munné, the Spanish company's prize-winning scientist and chief innovation officer. He believes that automated IVF would be far less expensive than the average US price of $20,000.

Currently, 500,000 kids are born through IVF each year across the world, yet the majority of those in need cannot afford current reproductive methods. This will have an impact on the world, especially in developing nations.

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First Published:Apr 27, 2023, 16:48:41 IST
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