Astec, a global manufacturer of medical equipment for assisted reproduction, has acquired Life Whisperer, the AI fertility product developed by Presagen. Life Whisperer is a non-invasive and rapid embryo and egg (oocyte) assessment tool designed to improve pregnancy outcomes for IVF patients.
Life Whisperer consists of three AI algorithms. The first, Life Whisperer Viability, assesses images of embryos to determine the likelihood that the embryo will lead to a pregnancy. The second, Life Whisperer Genetics, evaluates an embryo’s morphological quality and its likelihood of being genetically normal (euploid). The third, Life Whisperer Oocyte, evaluates images of oocytes (single or group culture) to determine how likely the oocytes are to form a good quality embryo, or blastocyst.
Multiple international studies have demonstrated that Life Whisperer can improve pregnancy and live birth outcomes. A study by Diakiw et al. in 2022, published in Reproductive BioMedicine Online, found that “an artificial intelligence model correlated with morphological and genetic features of blastocyst quality improves ranking of viable embryos.”
The acquisition by Astec is expected to accelerate the adoption of this AI technology in IVF labs worldwide, leveraging Astec’s strong global distribution network in the fertility sector. Astec also plans to integrate Life Whisperer as a key feature in its embryo incubator product range.
Takeo Cho, Deputy CEO of Astec, stated: “We are excited to incorporate Life Whisperer in our product range to further our mission of supporting the assisted reproductive industry globally. We believe AI will be a core feature of every IVF lab in the future and we are delighted to offer our customers one of the most advanced and validated products in the market.”
Astec has already begun offering Life Whisperer to its customers in Japan and Indonesia and plans to commence a global rollout to make Life Whisperer available in other countries.
