Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
CReATe Fertility Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
J Urol. 2022 Dec;208(6):1303-1312. doi: 10.1097/JU.0000000000002903. Epub 2022 Sep 13.
Computer-aided sperm analysis is typically used in andrology labs, not in in vitro fertilization labs, which requires staining for sperm morphology measurement. In in vitro fertilization labs, sperm analysis still relies on manual observation and suffers from subjectivity and inconsistency. We developed a system for automated measurement of sperm concentration, motility, and morphology without the need for sperm staining. The reproducibility and reliability of the system were evaluated.
Thirty-five fresh semen and 25 washed samples were obtained from male partners attending for fertility investigations. Sperm concentration, motility, and morphology were automatically measured simultaneously, leveraging robust sperm tracking for concentration and motility measurement and low contrast image segmentation for morphology measurement of live sperm. Reproducibility of sperm measurements was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficients. Reliability of sperm measurement was evaluated by Passing and Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman analysis.
Automated measurement of concentration, motility, and morphology had intraclass correlation coefficients higher than 0.97. The regression and Bland-Altman analysis indicated that automated measurement and off-line manual benchmarking with zoomed-in images were interchangeable. Further analysis on semen and washed samples and the measurement on progressive and nonprogressive motility also showed high reproducibility and reliability.
Automated sperm analysis revealed high reproducibility and reliability. The system is designed for routine use in in vitro fertilization labs to perform quantitative sperm analysis on live samples.
计算机辅助精子分析通常用于男科实验室，而不是体外受精实验室，后者需要对精子形态进行染色测量。在体外受精实验室中，精子分析仍然依赖于手动观察，存在主观性和不一致性。我们开发了一种无需精子染色即可自动测量精子浓度、活力和形态的系统。评估了该系统的重现性和可靠性。
从接受生育力调查的男性伴侣中获得了 35 份新鲜精液和 25 份洗涤样本。利用强大的精子跟踪功能进行浓度和活力测量，以及低对比度图像分割进行活精子形态测量，同时自动测量精子浓度、活力和形态。通过组内相关系数评估精子测量的重现性。通过 Passing 和 Bablok 回归分析和 Bland-Altman 分析评估精子测量的可靠性。
浓度、活力和形态的自动测量的组内相关系数均高于 0.97。回归和 Bland-Altman 分析表明，自动测量和使用放大图像进行离线手动基准测试是可互换的。对精液和洗涤样本的进一步分析以及对前向运动和非前向运动的测量也显示出了高度的重现性和可靠性。
自动化精子分析显示出了高度的重现性和可靠性。该系统专为体外受精实验室常规使用而设计，可对活样本进行定量精子分析。
