SwimCount Harvester™ versus Density Gradient Centrifugation: A Pilot Study exploring Sperm DNA Fragmentation and...

To compare SwimCount Harvester™, a non-centrifugal sperm selection system, with Density Gradient Centrifugation (DGC) in terms of sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), agreement between analytical methods, and total motile sperm recovery.

This pilot study evaluated semen samples processed using DGC and SwimCount Harvester™. SDF was assessed in raw and processed samples using the Sperm Chromatin Dispersion (SCD; Halosperm®) assay, analyzed both manually and via computer-assisted sperm analysis (SCA® CASA). Agreement between manual and CASA classification (>20% threshold) was evaluated using Cohen's kappa with bootstrap confidence intervals (10,000 resamples). Total motile sperm count (TMSC) was compared between DGC and Harvester (n=36), and effect size was calculated using Cohen's d.

Both DGC and Harvester significantly reduced SDF compared with raw semen (p<0.001 for all comparisons), with no significant difference between techniques (CASA p=0.219; manual p=0.341). Agreement between manual and CASA assessment improved following processing, reaching perfect concordance after Harvester (κ=1.00; bootstrap 95% CI 0.54-1.00). Harvester yielded significantly higher TMSC compared with DGC (p=0.001), with a large effect size (Cohen's d=0.81).

SwimCount Harvester™ achieves SDF reduction comparable to DGC while significantly increasing motile sperm recovery. These findings support the potential of non-centrifugal sperm selection as an alternative to conventional methods. Larger studies are required to confirm these results and determine their clinical implications.