One in six people around the world currently lives with infertility, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). That striking statistic has become the backdrop for one of the most consequential developments in modern reproductive medicine an AI-driven embryo assessment model developed by TFC Taipei Fertility Center that can improve the probability of identifying chromosomally normal embryos by up to 24%. Announced in June 2026, the breakthrough places Taiwan at the forefront of a global effort to make IVF treatment more precise, more reliable, and less physically and emotionally burdensome for patients.

A Country with a Competitive Edge in AI

Taiwan has long been recognised as an "AI technology island" and a pivotal player in global AI development. That reputation has now extended into the healthcare sector, with reproductive medicine emerging as one of its most consequential application areas. By merging artificial intelligence with decades of clinical expertise in infertility treatment, TFC Taipei Fertility Center has produced a clinical decision-support tool that its researchers believe could fundamentally change how embryo selection is approached across the world.

The research findings were presented at the recently concluded ASPIRE 2026 Asia-Pacific Initiative on Reproduction annual conference, where they attracted considerable attention from the international reproductive medicine community.

Breaking Through the "Blind Selection" Dilemma

In IVF treatment, the selection of chromosomally normal embryos is the single most decisive factor in determining whether an implantation attempt will succeed and whether the resulting pregnancy will lead to a healthy birth. Until now, that selection process has depended heavily on the visual judgement and clinical experience of individual physicians and embryologists, a model that, despite producing remarkable outcomes over the decades, introduces a degree of variability that is difficult to eliminate.

TFC's research team built its AI model on the iDAScore v2.0 system, which analyzes time-lapse imaging captured throughout the full embryo culture process and integrates large-scale clinical data to automatically generate a developmental potential score for each embryo. The score ranges from 1.0 to 9.9 and is designed to provide clinical teams with a standardized, quantifiable, and objective basis for comparing embryo quality.

The results are striking. The AI-Powered Embryo Selection model was shown to improve the accuracy of identifying chromosomally normal, high-quality embryos by up to 24%. For patients who have experienced recurrent implantation failure, that improvement in selection accuracy represents a meaningful reduction in clinical risk and a potentially significant shortening of the overall time required to achieve a successful conception.

What the Founder of IVF in Taiwan Is Saying

Dr. Chii-Ruey Tzeng, the founder of TFC Taipei Fertility Center and widely regarded as the "Father of IVF in Taiwan," offered a clear articulation of the philosophy behind the development. "Reproductive medicine globally is rapidly entering a new era of precision and intelligence. The future role of AI is not to replace physicians, but to serve as the most powerful clinical support tool — helping teams efficiently integrate embryo development data, genetic information, and individual patient profiles. This will advance reproductive medicine comprehensively toward 'precise decision-making, patient-friendly treatment, and comprehensive risk management,' empowering fertility-seeking families to make the clearest and most confident medical choices."

The perspective reflects a broader shift happening across reproductive medicine, one where tools like AI scoring systems work alongside the clinical team rather than supplanting it, enabling faster and more consistent decision-making without removing the human judgement that complex cases still require.

Tackling Genetic Risk: Maternal Spindle Transfer Technology

Beyond the AI embryo assessment model, TFC has also been advancing work on another frontier of precision reproductive medicine — the prevention of inherited genetic disease. The center's team has developed Maternal Spindle Transfer (MST) technology, which is aimed at reducing the risk of transmitting pathogenic mitochondrial DNA to the next generation. For families with a history of mitochondrial genetic disorders, this technology opens a new avenue of medical research and potential clinical application.

As with all technologies in this domain, MST involves specialized clinical evaluation, significant ethical considerations, and regulatory requirements that differ by jurisdiction. TFC has been clear that its application must be carefully matched to individual patient profiles and conducted in full compliance with the applicable legal frameworks in each market.

Reducing the Burden of IVF Treatment

The physical and psychological toll of IVF is well-documented, and addressing it has become an increasingly important dimension of responsible clinical practice. TFC Deputy Director Dr. Jason Yen-Ping Ho has introduced the Progestin-Primed Ovarian Stimulation (PPOS) protocol as part of the center's effort to reduce that burden. Under certain clinical conditions, the PPOS protocol may offer patients greater scheduling flexibility and reduced treatment-related stress, thereby improving the overall experience of navigating an IVF cycle and making treatment planning more manageable.

Six Years, Thirty Thousand Patients, More Than 50 Countries

Since its establishment, TFC Taipei Fertility Center has grown into one of the region's most internationally active reproductive medicine institutions. In its six years of operation, the center has delivered reproductive medicine consultations and treatments to more than 30,000 patients and supported the birth of over 3,600 newborns. Families from more than 50 countries have sought care at TFC, reflecting both the global fertility crisis and the center's growing reputation for clinical excellence and international service capability.

Looking ahead, TFC has stated that it intends to continue strengthening its advanced embryology laboratory capabilities, its precision reproductive medicine offerings, its multilingual international services, and its integrated care processes. The goal is to raise the standard of reproductive healthcare across the Asia-Pacific region and to provide cross-border families with access to assisted reproductive treatments that are safe, precise, and centered on the patient's experience.

The combination of AI-Powered Embryo Selection, advanced genetic technology, and patient-friendly treatment protocols positions TFC as a model for what evidence-based, technology-enhanced reproductive care can look like not just in Taiwan but globally.