Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of contributors
- 1 Andrology
- 2 Sperm–egg interaction
- 3 Routine semen analysis
- 4 Computer-aided sperm analysis: a critical review
- 5 Antisperm antibodies: diagnosis and treatment
- 6 The sperm penetration assay
- 7 Intrauterine insemination for male factor
- 8 Processing human semen for insemination: comparison of methods
- 9 New assays for evaluating sperm function
- 10 Assisted reproductive technology for male factor infertility
- 11 Microinjection techniques for male infertility
- 12 Therapeutic donor insemination: screening, indications and technique
- 13 Endocrine assessment and hormone treatment of the infertile male
- 14 The urologic evaluation of the infertile male
- 15 Azoospermia: the diagnosis and treatment
- 16 White blood cells in semen and their impact on fertility
- 17 Psychological aspects of male infertility: lifting the shroud of shame
- 18 Evaluation of the female partner
- Index
4 - Computer-aided sperm analysis: a critical review
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of contributors
- 1 Andrology
- 2 Sperm–egg interaction
- 3 Routine semen analysis
- 4 Computer-aided sperm analysis: a critical review
- 5 Antisperm antibodies: diagnosis and treatment
- 6 The sperm penetration assay
- 7 Intrauterine insemination for male factor
- 8 Processing human semen for insemination: comparison of methods
- 9 New assays for evaluating sperm function
- 10 Assisted reproductive technology for male factor infertility
- 11 Microinjection techniques for male infertility
- 12 Therapeutic donor insemination: screening, indications and technique
- 13 Endocrine assessment and hormone treatment of the infertile male
- 14 The urologic evaluation of the infertile male
- 15 Azoospermia: the diagnosis and treatment
- 16 White blood cells in semen and their impact on fertility
- 17 Psychological aspects of male infertility: lifting the shroud of shame
- 18 Evaluation of the female partner
- Index
Summary
Introduction
Commercially available computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA) was introduced to research laboratories and laboratory medicine nearly 10 years ago. The first instruments were CellSoft (Cryo Resources, Montgomery, NY) and ExpertVision (later called CellTrak, Motion Analysis Corp., Santa Rosa, CA). There soon followed the HTM-2000 (Hamilton Thorn Research, Beverly, MA), the SM-CMA instrument from Europe (Stromberg-Mika, Bad Feilnbach, Germany), and others. There are now over 120 papers which verify CASA technology for semen analysis or apply it in basic and clinical studies. However, despite this enormous body of work, and the considerable time since its introduction, CASA's potential has not been realized for two basic reasons. First, manufacturers have been unwilling or unable to address a fundamental limitation of the technology, namely the inability of CASA instruments to obtain accurate counts and percent motilities when the concentration of a specimen is greater than about 50 x 106 sperm/ml or less than about 20 x 106 sperm/ml, or when a specimen is laden with debris. These common conditions require laboratories to either dilute, concentrate, or wash specimens, significantly limiting routine clinical application of the technology. Second, professional societies and organizations have been slow to develop and recommend performance and operating standards for CASA instruments. Appeals have been made by industry spokesmen and individual scientists (Schrader et al., 1992; Chapin et al., 1992) to achieve this end, but no stance has been taken by any professional group on the performance, use, calibration, or standardization of CASA technology.
The application of CASA in clinical laboratory medicine is hindered by these continuing technical limitations and the lack of involvement by professional organizations.
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- Evaluation and Treatment of the Infertile Male , pp. 30 - 41Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1996
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