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. 2020 Apr;38(2):191-197.
doi: 10.5534/wjmh.180095. Epub 2019 Jan 18.

Validation of SwimCount™, a Novel Home-Based Device That Detects Progressively Motile Spermatozoa: Correlation with World Health Organization 5th Semen Analysis

Young Eun Yoon  1 , Tae Yoon Kim  2 , Tai Eun Shin  3 , Eunji Lee  3 , Kyung Hwa Choi  4 , Seung Ryeol Lee  4 , Young Kwon Hong  4 , Dong Soo Park  4 , Dae Keun Kim  5   6
Affiliations

Validation of SwimCount™, a Novel Home-Based Device That Detects Progressively Motile Spermatozoa: Correlation with World Health Organization 5th Semen Analysis

Young Eun Yoon et al. World J Mens Health. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: We evaluated the usefulness of a home-based device (SwimCount™) compared with World Health Organization (WHO) 5th semen analysis in screening for male fertility in Asian men.

Materials and methods: One hundred Asian men who visited CHA Seoul Station Fertility Center for evaluation of fertility were included. Semen samples were analyzed and compared with the SwimCount™ results. An aliquot of 0.5 mL of the semen sample was added to the SwimCount™ and a WHO 5th semen analysis was performed. Results were categorized as low (<5×10⁶/mL), and normal to high (≥5×10⁶/mL) total progressively motile sperm concentration. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to evaluate the accuracy of the SwimCount™.

Results: The mean total progressively motile sperm concentration was 26.7×10⁶/mL. Semen analysis revealed that 28% of the samples were below the threshold count of 5 million/mL total progressively motile sperm concentration. The mean total progressively motile sperm concentration of the light color SwimCount™ result group determined by semen analysis was 7.5×10⁶/mL, and the mean total progressively motile sperm concentration of the moderate to dark color SwimCount™ result group was 34.2×10⁶/mL. An area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.85 (95% confidence interval, 0.77-0.94; p<0.001) was obtained when the SwimCount™ was compared with semen analysis. The sensitivity and specificity were obtained at a cut off value of 5.0×10⁶/mL total progressively motile sperm concentration, giving a sensitivity and specificity of 87.5% and 73.4%.

Conclusions: We confirmed the reliability of the SwimCount™ as a home-based device for male fertility by evaluating the total progressively motile sperm concentration.

Keywords: Fertility; Sperm count; Sperm motility; Spermatozoa.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Methodology of using the SwimCount™ device (permitted by MotilityCount ApS, Valby, Denmark).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Principle of the SwimCount™ device, and examples of final results in the action window (permitted by MotilityCount ApS, Valby, Denmark). TPMSC, total progressively motile sperm concentration.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Distribution of total progressively motile sperm concentration (TPMSC) percentage according to SwimCount™ result (left, light color group; right, moderate to dark color group).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for validation of SwimCount™ against conventional semen analysis for total progressively motile sperm concentration results.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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