Evaluation of the Hamilton-Thorn Motility Analyzer for routine semen analysis

In routine semen analysis of 102 patients the values of sperm concentration and the percentage of sperm motility were measured with the Hamilton-Thorn Motility Analyzer (HTMA) and compared to the data obtained by conventional semen analysis according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO). Results were classified according to the conventional semen analysis before statistical analyses. Overall, sperm concentration by both methods showed a correlation of 0.95 (p < 0.0001) but the HTMA gave higher values for sperm concentration (mean difference 10.8 +/- 18.9 x 10(6)/ml, mean +/- S.D.). Only a sperm concentration of between 40 and 80 x 10(6)/ml can be measured accurately with the HTMA. The percentage of sperm motility by both methods showed a correlation of 0.759 (p < 0.0001) but were estimated slightly lower by the HTMA than by conventional analysis (mean difference 1.7 +/- 15.8%). In conclusion, the HTMA system can not replace conventional semen analysis in routine semen analysis.