REPRODUCIBILITY OF COMPUTER-AIDED SEMEN ANALYSIS - COMPARISON OF 5 DIFFERENT SYSTEMS USED IN A PRACTICAL WORKSHOP

Study objectives: To assess a single (donor) sample by the use of five computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) systems. Setting: British And rology Society advanced course on computer-assisted semen analysis tec hniques, September 1992. Participants: Clinical, technical and scienti fic personnel with mixed experience of CASA techniques, but all intere sted in semen assessment technology. Results: 22 sets of data, compris ing 6 commonly derived parameters, from the same sample were obtained using five CASA systems. The coefficients of variation for sperm conce ntration (29%) and proportion motile (24%) were comparable to those pr eviously reported for manual assessments. For all parameters, ''within system'' variability was considerably greater than ''between system,' ' indicating that differences in sample handling and operator expertis e were more significant sources of variation than the CASA systems the mselves. Conclusions: Emphasis on operator training and standardizatio n of sample handling techniques would enhance the reproducibility of C ASA measurements more than improvements in the CASA systems themselves . There was evidence, however, that the CASA measurements were more co nsistent than equivalent manual measures, and also provide information about the quality of sperm motility which cannot be obtained by alter native techniques.