Technical Note: The use of iSperm technology for on-farm measurement of equine sperm motility and concentration

Abstract

The iSperm is a newly released semen analysis tool from Aidmics Biotechnology Co. LTD, which allows an iPad Mini to be transformed into a handheld microscope with objective semen analysis software for equine available through the Apple Store (version 4.5.2). The aim of this study was to compare iSperm values for sperm motility and sperm concentration to current acceptable methods for semen analysis and to determine the agreement with these methods using statistical methods. Two ejaculates from each of five Standardbred stallions were used to compare sperm motility (computer-assisted semen analysis [CASA] vs. iSperm) and concentration (NucleoCounter SP-100 [NC] vs. hemocytometer vs. iSperm). Data were analyzed by first testing for the differences between the means of each method using a linear mixed-effects model. The agreement between the two continuous measurements for each method was then investigated by computing Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), with a value of 1 indicating perfect agreement between methods. Results are reported as the CCC with the associated 95% confidence interval in parentheses. Means for both total motility (TM) and progressive motility (PM) were equal between CASA and iSperm values (P = 0.0741 and P = 0.725, respectively). However, means for all velocity measurements were significantly different between CASA and iSperm readings (P < 0.001). For concentration, means were equal between NC and iSperm values (P = 0.748) and for hemocytometer and iSperm values (P = 0.953). The CCC for TM was 0.871 (0.788, 0.923) and for PM was 0.916 (0.847, 0.955) indicating good agreement between methods. Low levels of agreement were observed for all velocity measurements. Finally, the CCC for concentration compared by iSperm and NC was 0.970 (0.949, 0.982) and for iSperm and hemocytometer it was 0.962 (0.934, 0.978), both close to the line of perfect concordance. Although more work is needed to improve the iSperm software for velocity measurements to be acceptable by research standards, in its present form the iSperm will introduce a low-cost and affordable method for on-farm semen analysis (TM, PM, concentration) for breeders and veterinarians. As a result, more farms will have access to accurate sperm analysis tools which will help to standardize semen processing procedures leading to better overall quality of semen used for artificial insemination.

Assessment of an iPad-based sperm motility analyzer for determination of canine sperm motility

“…However, the authors of this study did not investigate the CV for concentration values generated by the iSperm Equine application. In agreement with our findings, Moraes et al (2019) found that the iSperm Equine application provided accurate TM and PM motility assessment when compared to a CASA system( Moraes et al, 2019 ). In agreement with the existing literature, our result indicate that the iSperm could be a very useful and affordable tool for onsite analysis of canine semen, though we recommend repeated measures for concentration assessment due to the high CV we observed for this parameter.…”

“… Moraes et al (2019) concluded that the iSperm Equine application was a valid means for concentration, concentration, total motility, and progressive motility assessment of equine semen. This study found that iSperm Equine assessment of semen concentration did not significantly differ from Nucleocounter or hemocytometer assessment.…”

Sperm Gone Smart: A Portable Device (iSperm®) to Assess Semen Concentration and Motility in Dogs

“…The reliability and technical settings of CASA systems have already been extensively investigated and optimized [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. The NucleoCounter ® , on the other hand, is a newer device that has rapidly gained in popularity for the assessment of sperm concentration of several species and is now considered as the gold standard in stallions [ 13 , 14 ]. The NucleoCounter ® can discern sperm debris and particles from spermatozoa using a DNA-specific fluorescent dye that stains spermatozoa DNA.…”

“…Among them, the software iSperm ® , developed by Aidmics Biotechnology (Taipei City, Taiwan), uses the camera of an iPad Mini 4 (Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA, USA) and a heating chamber to capture and analyze multiple videoframes of semen at 37 °C. The iSperm ® software has species-specific settings and its use in stallions [ 14 , 17 ], boars [ 18 ], and stud dogs [ 19 ] has been reported in the literature. This portable tool was found accurate in estimating different semen concentrations when compared with both NucleoCounter ® and hemocytometer in stallions [ 14 , 17 ].…”

“…The iSperm ® software has species-specific settings and its use in stallions [ 14 , 17 ], boars [ 18 ], and stud dogs [ 19 ] has been reported in the literature. This portable tool was found accurate in estimating different semen concentrations when compared with both NucleoCounter ® and hemocytometer in stallions [ 14 , 17 ]. Results for motility assessment were encouraging in stallions and dogs [ 14 , 17 , 19 ], although accuracy in estimating velocity parameters should be improved in stallions [ 14 ].…”