Blood test for male infertility developed using AI

An artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by scientists in Japan can predict male infertility using hormone levels in blood.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, focused on creating an AI model to predict male infertility based on different hormone levels associated with sperm production. These results could lead to the development of a blood test, providing a more accessible diagnostic tool without the need for a sperm sample.

'Usually, the first step in the diagnosis of male infertility is to perform a semen analysis, and if abnormalities are found, a hormone test is performed,' stated Professor Hideyuki Kobayashi at the Department of Urology, Toho University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. 'This is the world's first AI prediction to determine the risk of male infertility without semen testing,' he continued to the Daily Mail.

Professor Kobayashi noted, 'This AI prediction model is intended only as a primary screening step prior to semen testing. It can be easily performed at facilities other than those specialising in infertility treatment.'

Researchers gathered data from nearly 4000 men who had undergone sperm and hormone testing for male infertility between 2011 and 2020 and either been found to have a normal sperm count, or given a specific reason for their infertility, for example obstructive azoospermia.

Researchers used data collected on the levels of multiple hormones, including follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), as well as luteinising hormone (LH) and testosterone-estradiol ratio (T/E2) to develop an AI prediction model for certain causes of infertility.

The model generated predicted infertility with 74 percent accuracy. A severe form of male infertility, known as non-obstructive azoospermia, which is the absence of sperm in the semen, could be predicted with 100 percent accuracy, using the AI model developed using hormone data.

Professor Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Manchester and trustee of PET (the Progress Educational Trust – the charity that publishes BioNews), told the Guardian, 'One of the first steps in diagnosing male infertility is the analysis of a sample of semen in a specialist laboratory. This will involve time off work and another appointment, sometimes at a specialist laboratory some distance away. Therefore, the idea that a first-stage diagnosis could be done from a blood sample taken by the GP does offer some advantages.'

He continued: 'The authors of this paper have done a great job in applying artificial intelligence to the problem, but their approach would have to be simplified into some kind of app that GPs could use for it to have real-world benefit. Clearly, the male would have to provide a semen sample for analysis, eventually, but this approach, if confirmed in a larger dataset, could help streamline the process and make it a bit more user-friendly.'