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In a guest report for Astral Codex Ten, Drew Housman says he and his wife used ChatGPT as an additional source of information during six years of infertility treatment. He credits the chatbot with prompting them to request an MRI, which found a 6-centimeter uterine fibroid; the account is personal testimony, not evidence that AI can reliably diagnose infertility.
Drew Housman says ChatGPT suggested an MRI during his wife’s years-long infertility workup, and that the scan found a 6-centimeter uterine fibroid that had not been detected in earlier testing. The account, published as a guest report on Astral Codex Ten, describes one couple’s experience; it does not establish that AI chatbots can diagnose infertility reliably or replace medical care.
Housman writes that he and his wife could create embryos through IVF, but their embryo transfers repeatedly failed. After extensive testing and consultations, clinicians classified their situation as unexplained infertility. The couple began asking ChatGPT questions about scans, hormone levels, follicle counts, procedures and other aspects of treatment, which they found difficult to cover in limited appointments.
They gave the chatbot a fictional medical-drama persona, calling it “Dr. Reid,” and used its answers as a supplement to conversations with their fertility doctors. Housman says they checked responses with clinicians and often found them consistent. He also describes errors, including an instance when the chatbot misread an ultrasound and told them his wife was pregnant. These observations come from the couple, not a formal evaluation of the system.
According to Housman, the chatbot recommended considering an MRI. Their fertility doctor was initially reluctant, he says, and the couple had to press for the scan. It showed a submucosal fibroid measuring 6 centimeters in diameter. Housman reports that the doctor then recommended removing it. The supplied account does not say whether surgery took place or whether the finding ultimately changed the couple’s fertility outcome.
A Second Opinion Prompted Further Imaging
The account highlights how people facing complex or prolonged medical problems may use chatbots to generate questions and explore options between appointments. Housman says the chatbot drew attention to an imaging option that, in his account, had not been pursued despite years of treatment. The consequential step was not an AI-directed procedure: the couple took the suggestion to their fertility doctor and sought an MRI through clinical care.
That distinction matters for patients. A chatbot can produce a useful prompt, but it can also misread images or give incorrect information, as Housman’s own example illustrates. This is a single retrospective account and offers no evidence about how often an AI assistant identifies a missed diagnosis, whether the MRI was indicated for other patients, or whether following similar suggestions improves outcomes. It supports neither a general claim of diagnostic ability nor a conclusion that clinicians failed to provide appropriate care.
The case also reflects the pressures of infertility treatment: costly care, repeated procedures and limited time with clinicians. Patients may turn to AI for explanations and preparation. The safety question is how to use those tools to support informed conversations without treating fluent answers as verified medical advice.
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Six Years of Unexplained Infertility
Housman’s report describes a fertility journey lasting about six years, with testing and procedures that had not explained why embryo transfers failed. In the account, the couple’s doctors used the label unexplained infertility after not identifying a cause. Housman says that experience left them looking for answers beyond short appointments, and they began using ChatGPT after GPT-4 became available.
The chatbot was used for a wide range of questions, from interpreting test results to asking about possible investigations. Housman says its responses generally matched what their doctors told them when the couple checked. But this is the author’s description of their interactions, not a comparison study, and agreement on some answers cannot confirm that the chatbot’s overall advice was accurate.
The MRI mattered in their story because it identified a finding that prior testing had not revealed. The report describes the fibroid as non-cancerous and located in the uterine wall; the clinical note quoted by Housman said it needed removal. The source does not provide the medical record, details of the earlier scans, or an independent assessment of why the fibroid was not found sooner.
““That’s when our LLM doctor stepped in.””
— Drew Housman, guest author at Astral Codex Ten
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Questions About the Scan and Outcome
The report does not include the MRI images, complete clinical records or an independent account from the treating doctor. It is therefore unclear why an MRI was not ordered earlier, what factors shaped the doctor’s initial hesitation, or whether the fibroid was the cause of the failed transfers. Housman says the doctor recommended removal, but the supplied material does not confirm whether the procedure occurred or what happened afterward.
It is also unknown how accurately ChatGPT handled the couple’s questions overall. Housman describes spot-checking answers with doctors and recounts at least one clear mistake, but provides no systematic review of the chatbot’s responses. The account does not establish that an AI assistant would identify the same issue for other patients or that MRI is appropriate in every case of unexplained infertility.
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Treatment Outcome Is Not Reported
The source material ends after the MRI finding and the doctor’s recommendation to remove the fibroid. It gives no later update on surgery, subsequent fertility treatment or pregnancy. Those details would clarify the medical course, but they are not available in the report provided here.
For readers considering AI during medical care, the account’s documented sequence is limited: the couple asked questions, took a suggested test to a clinician, obtained an MRI and received a treatment recommendation. Any decision about imaging or treatment should be made with qualified medical professionals who can review a patient’s history and test results. The report offers no verified guidance for applying the couple’s experience to other cases.
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Key Questions
What did the chatbot recommend?
Housman says ChatGPT, which the couple called “Dr. Reid,” suggested that his wife get an MRI during an infertility workup.
What did the MRI find?
According to Housman, the scan found a 6-centimeter submucosal uterine fibroid. He says the fertility doctor recommended removing it.
Does this show that AI can diagnose infertility?
No. The report describes one couple’s experience and does not provide a clinical study or independent verification of the chatbot’s diagnostic performance. Housman also recounts an instance when it misread an ultrasound.
Did the fibroid cause the failed embryo transfers?
The supplied account does not establish that. It reports the fibroid finding and a recommendation for removal, but does not provide a confirmed explanation for the failed transfers or a later treatment outcome.
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