Sperm Gone Smart: A Portable Device (iSperm<sup>®</sup>) to Assess Semen Concentration and Motility in Dogs
Guillaume Domain,
Penelope Banchi,
Hiba Ali Hassan,
Anouk Eilers,
Joke Lannoo,
Eline Wydooghe,
Wojciech Niżański,
Ann Van Soom
Affiliations
Guillaume Domain
Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Penelope Banchi
Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Hiba Ali Hassan
Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Anouk Eilers
Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Joke Lannoo
Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Eline Wydooghe
Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Wojciech Niżański
Department of Reproduction and Clinic of Farm Animals, University of Environmental Science, Grundwaldzki Square 49, 50-357 Wroclaw, Poland
Ann Van Soom
Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
The iSperm® is a portable device for semen analysis. This study aimed to investigate its correlation with a conventional computer-assisted sperm analyzer (ISAS®v1) for the assessment of semen concentration and kinematic parameters in dogs (n = 224). The intra-assay variability of both devices and their ability to estimate semen concentration at a fixed value of 40 × 106/mL were also investigated. Results showed that the intra-assay variability was lower for the ISAS®v1 for all parameters compared to the iSperm®. Hence, iSperm® estimates were more variable in-between fields. Both the iSperm® and the ISAS®v1 were not reliable in estimating semen concentration (ISAS®v1: median 30 × 106/mL, interquartile range (IQR) 12, p ®: median 35.12 × 106/mL, IQR 11.11, p ®. However, the low number of spermatozoa analyzed per field and the inability to avoid artifacts are downsides that currently limit the reliability of the iSperm®. Therefore, the software of iSperm® needs some improvement to make it a valid and practical alternative to automated computerized systems for the analysis of canine semen.
