Canine semen evaluation using a new configuration of the CASA system

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Andrology
• Reproductive Biology
• Sperm Analysis Technology

Background:

• Computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) is a standard laboratory method for semen evaluation.
• A lack of species-specific setup guidelines for CASA has been noted.
• Accurate semen evaluation is crucial for canine reproduction and fertility studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adjust and validate cell detection parameters (HBM and AREA) in the HT-IVOS II CASA system for canine semen analysis.
• To assess the impact of these parameter adjustments on sperm concentration and motility measurements.
• To establish an optimal species-specific CASA setup for canine semen.

Main Methods:

• Collected 20 ejaculates from six healthy dogs.
• Performed microscopic motility assessment, Neubauer chamber cell counting, and SDM1 photometer concentration analysis.
• Utilized the HT-IVOS II CASA system, re-analyzing recorded videos with adjusted HBM and AREA parameters (27 settings, 560 assessments).
• Statistically analyzed data using IBM SPSS.

Main Results:

• The adjusted HT-IVOS II CASA system (HBM: 140, AREA: 4 μm²) provided sperm concentration values highly concordant with the gold standard Neubauer counting (0.5 difference vs. 26 million for photometer).
• A strong correlation (R=0.94) was observed between CASA, Neubauer counts, and the SDM photometer.
• Perfect concordance was found between conventional microscopy and CASA for total and progressive motility evaluations with optimized HBM and AREA settings.

Conclusions:

• An optimal cell detection parameter setting (HBM: 140 and AREA: 4 μm²) was identified for the HT-IVOS II CASA system in canine semen analysis.
• This optimized setting significantly enhances the accuracy of sperm concentration and motility assessment in dogs.
• The study proposes a species-specific CASA setup, improving reliability in canine reproductive diagnostics.