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A Mobile Sperm Analyzer with User-Friendly Microfluidic Chips for Rapid On-Farm Semen Evaluation

  • 0Institute of Applied Mechanics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106319, Taiwan.
Biosensors +

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June 25, 2025

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June 25, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A new mobile system, iSperm, allows easy, on-farm boar semen analysis. It accurately measures sperm concentration and motility in under a minute, aiding swine artificial insemination decisions.

Area Of Science

  • Veterinary Science
  • Biotechnology
  • Agricultural Engineering

Background

  • Accurate boar semen evaluation is crucial for efficient swine artificial insemination programs.
  • Current methods for semen analysis often require specialized equipment and trained personnel, limiting on-farm accessibility.
  • There is a need for rapid, user-friendly, and field-deployable solutions for quantitative semen assessment.

Purpose Of The Study

  • To develop and validate a mobile-based system (iSperm) for rapid, accurate, and on-farm quantitative evaluation of boar semen.
  • To assess the system's performance, user variability, and diagnostic accuracy compared to established methods.

Main Methods

  • Development of a mobile-based system integrating a tablet, microfluidic chip, optical module, and heater.
  • Real-time image analysis software for automated measurement of sperm concentration, motility, and progressive motility.
  • Validation using precision, user variability, method comparison (Passing-Bablok, Bland-Altman), and ROC curve analyses with farm-collected boar semen samples.

Main Results

  • The iSperm system provided automated measurements of sperm concentration, motility, and progressive motility in under one minute.
  • High concordance was observed between iSperm, CASA, and hemocytometer methods, with minimal user variability.
  • Method comparison and ROC analyses confirmed excellent agreement and diagnostic accuracy (AUC > 0.95) for all parameters.

Conclusions

  • The iSperm platform offers a reliable, user-friendly, and field-deployable solution for on-site boar semen quality assessment.
  • This technology can improve decision-making in swine artificial insemination by providing rapid and accurate data.
  • The system empowers non-specialist users to perform quantitative semen analysis directly on the farm.

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