Computer-Assisted Analysis of Human Semen Concentration and Motility

Abstract

Computer-assisted semen analysis systems insist on evaluating sperm characteristics. These systems afford capacity to study and evaluate sperm statistical and morphological characteristics such as concentration, morphology, and motility, which have an important role in diagnosis and treatment of male infertility. In this paper, the proposed algorithm allows the assessment of concentration and motility rate of sperms in microscopic videos. First, enhancement process is required because of microscopic images limitations such as low contrast and noises. Then, for true sperm recognition among noise and debris, a hybrid approach is proposed using a combination between segmentation techniques. After, the use of geometric features of the bounding ellipse of the sperm head led to define sperm concentration. Finally, inter-frame difference is applied for motile sperm detection. The proposed method was tested on microscopic videos of human semen; the performance of this method is analyzed in terms of speed, accuracy, and complexity. Obtained results during the experiments are very promising compared with those obtained by the traditional assessment, which is the most widely used and approved in the laboratories.