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By:

Dr. Abhilash Dawre

19 March 2025 at 10:48:41 pm

Woman dies by suicide

Husband held over alleged dowry harassment, nine-month-old daughter left motherless Ulhasnagar: A 28-year-old highly educated woman allegedly died by suicide at her residence in Ulhasnagar on September 12, following alleged physical and mental harassment by her husband, mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law over dowry, domestic issues and the birth of a daughter, according to a complaint filed by her father. The deceased, identified as Nitya Gaurav Rai, was married to software engineer Gaurav...

Woman dies by suicide

Husband held over alleged dowry harassment, nine-month-old daughter left motherless Ulhasnagar: A 28-year-old highly educated woman allegedly died by suicide at her residence in Ulhasnagar on September 12, following alleged physical and mental harassment by her husband, mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law over dowry, domestic issues and the birth of a daughter, according to a complaint filed by her father. The deceased, identified as Nitya Gaurav Rai, was married to software engineer Gaurav Sanjay Rai in December 2021. Police have registered a case against the husband and two other family members, and Gaurav Rai has been arrested. Their nine-month-old daughter has been left without her mother. According to the complaint, Nitya was an MSc and BEd graduate, while her husband Gaurav is a software engineer. Her father alleged that despite his limited financial means, he had given around Rs 3.75 lakh in cash to Gaurav at the time of marriage, along with household articles and expenses towards the wedding. Nitya’s father alleged that after the marriage, she was repeatedly subjected to harassment over household work and was allegedly pressured to bring additional dowry from her parental home. He further alleged that Nitya’s mother-in-law Madhuri Sanjay Rai and grandmother-in-law Sharda Rai also subjected her to mental and physical harassment. The father further alleged that the situation worsened after Nitya gave birth to a daughter in December 2025. According to him, her grandmother-in-law repeatedly taunted her over the birth of the girl child and allegedly told her that she had increased their troubles by having another child. According to the family, Nitya generally did not disclose the disputes at her matrimonial home to her parents. However, on the night of the incident, she allegedly made a call to her father at around 11.30 pm and told him to come and take her home, stating that otherwise the family members would kill her. Her father said that he asked her what had happened and told her that he would speak to her in-laws. When he subsequently called again, her father-in-law Sanjay Rai allegedly informed him that Nitya had died. Nitya’s father said he then requested her in-laws to immediately take her to a hospital. He has also alleged that his daughter was killed and appealed to the police to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death and ensure justice for his daughter and family.

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Writer: Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Nov 7, 2024
3 min read

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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