Agreement between home sperm testing and computer-assisted and manual semen analysis for motile sperm concentration

To evaluate the agreement of motile sperm concentration (MSC) measurements obtained using the YO Home Sperm Test compared with manual semen analysis and computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA), and to assess its potential utility as a home-based screening tool for male fertility.

Semen samples from 40 men were analyzed using three methods: the YO Home Sperm Test, manual semen analysis with a Makler counting chamber, and CASA using the Integrated Visual Optical System analyzer. Agreement between methods was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

The three testing methods showed significant correlations (p<0.01), with an overall ICC of 0.902. Pairwise ICCs were 0.815 (95% CI, 0.651 to 0.902) between manual semen analysis and the YO Home Sperm Test, 0.793 (95% CI, 0.608 to 0.890) between manual semen analysis and CASA, and 0.944 (95% CI, 0.894 to 0.970) between the YO Home Sperm Test and CASA. Agreement was strongest between the YO Home Sperm Test and CASA, supporting the reliability of the home-based device for measuring MSC.

The YO Home Sperm Test demonstrated good agreement with both manual semen analysis and CASA, particularly with CASA, supporting its potential use as a convenient, accessible, and private screening tool for the initial evaluation of male fertility. However, as a screening device rather than a comprehensive diagnostic test, abnormal findings should be confirmed by standard laboratory semen analysis. Further studies in larger populations and across different smartphone platforms are warranted.