WORKSHOP REPORT - CLINICAL CASA - THE QUEST FOR CONSENSUS

The goals of the Workshop were to establish the current state-of-the-a rt in the clinical use of computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA), to ide ntify areas of contention or confusion in the use of CASA technology, and to reach consensus on these matters to facilitate the wider use, a nd usefulness, of these instruments in clinical and research applicati ons. CASA assessments of sperm morphology were not considered as they were discussed in a separate Workshop (Advanced Techniques in Sperm Pr eparation and Imaging) on analytical techniques. Four topics were cons idered: (a) CASA and semen analysis; (b) the diagnostic value of sperm kinematics in semen; (c) human sperm hyperactivation; and (d) CASA an d fertility prediction. In all, 17 specific consensus points were iden tified.