Astec, a global manufacturer of medical equipment for assisted reproduction, has acquired Presagen's fertility product Life Whisperer, a non-invasive and rapid embryo and egg (oocyte) assessment tool designed to improve pregnancy outcomes for IVF patients.

Life Whisperer comprises three AI algorithms. Life Whisperer Viability assesses images of embryos to determine the likelihood that the embryo will lead to a pregnancy. Life Whisperer Genetics evaluates an embryo's morphological quality and its likelihood of being genetically normal (euploid). 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 shown Life Whisperer can improve pregnancy and live birth outcomes.^[1]

The acquisition by Astec, with their strong global distribution network in the fertility sector, will accelerate the proliferation of this promising AI technology into IVF labs around the world. Astec also intends to make Life Whisperer a key feature of its embryo incubator product range.

Takeo Cho, Deputy CEO of Astec said "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 is already offering Life Whisperer to its customers in Japan and Indonesia and will commence its global rollout to make Life Whisperer available in other countries.

^[1] Diakiw et al, 2022. An artificial intelligence model correlated with morphological and genetic features of blastocyst quality improves ranking of viable embryos. RBMO, 5(6):1105-1117.