QualiSperm™ for animals
The QualiSperm™ solution is a so-called computer assisted semen (CASA) system, i.e. all important clinical parameters such as concentration, motility, and morphology are acquired using a standard upright microscope equipped with an advanced but robust and cost-efficient digital camera enabling the precise acquisition and storage of digital images of sperms in a sequence. These digitally acquired images are then in turn processed using our advanced image recognition algorithm in order to accurately determine concentration, motility, and morphology.
The idea of developing CASA systems is not new and the transfer from manual sperm analysis to automated CASA assessment has encountered many hurdles. The main challenges for earlier CASA systems has been mainly related to poor accuracy of clinical parameters combined with too complicated software solutions leading to a slow assessment with low reproducibility.
The QualiSperm™ provides a novel solution to an old problem:
- Advanced robust, reliable, and top quality system components
- A state-of-the-art image recognition algorithm for accurate and reproducible measurements
- A software solution where the main objective has been to facilitate and increase the speed of acquisition in order to provide the user with the best possible data quality
QualiSperm™ is a automated easy-to-use CASA system based on a high-quality upright microscope providing the most important parameters such as concentration, motility, and morphology (under development).
The QualiSperm™ system uses a proprietary semen analysis algorithm based on a fundamentally new technology rendering very accurate and reproducible results clearly outperforming the current computerized semen analysis systems on the market.
We included a Digital Sperm Washing (DSW) algorithm in order to improve discrimination between sperms and other objects in the image. This feature leads to a significant reduction in acquisition time since time-consuming post-processing of images is omitted.
Real time quality control
Our system analyzes per one measurement over 1000 sperms within 6 seconds. You can measure up to nine different arrays (up to 10,000 sperms). The accuracy and speed of the sperm quality analyzer is unmatched by any CASA system or by manual methods.
Concentration Measurement
 Leaflet: Concentration, Motility and Droplets
The QualiSperm™ software allows for fast and accurate determination of the sperm concentration. Additional to total sperm concentration also the percentage of sperms of a given motility class (see Motility section for more information) is determined. An advantage of the system is that we are using a larger field of view than most competitors which leads to a faster analysis since more sperms per unit area can be determined. This feature together with our advanced image recognition algorithm enables the QualiSperm™ software to capture over 1000 sperms in one image. To further increase accuracy up to 9 different individual fields can be acquired.
 Screenshot of QualiSperm™ Animal showing the dialogue for input information such as animal name and identification number as well as sample identification number. In the bottom of the image a panel showing schematically the four positions which automatically will be measured by using a motorized xy stage.
Image acquisition of a boar sperm sample using QualiSperm™ Animal showing the subsequent measurement and analysis of four different samples (position B is currently measured). Prior to measure each position, the image brightness and focusing is done automatically to ensure maximal accuracy and reproducibility.
Motility Measurement
 2 minutes video: Motility measurement with QualiSperm (boar sample)
Leaflet: Concentration, Motility and Droplets
Additional to concentration and motility we have developed a module which can automatically detect droplet defects with a standard 10x phase contrast objective. This significantly facilitates sperm quality assessment in production since time-consuming manual analysis can be omitted. Furthermore, all QualiSperm™ data can be easily transferred to your database in order to minimize errors in data management.
Result window of QualiSperm™ Animal showing concentration and motility parameters of a boar sperm sample including a bar plot of 4 user-defined speed classes.
Droplet Recognition
The latest module developed in cooperation with customers in the animal market is the droplet recognition module. This module gives the user the opportunity to recognize droplets in the sperms in addition to the concentration and motility measurement. With this module breeding organizations are able to better control and differentiate their product. The QualiSperm™ Animal solution with concentration, motility and droplet recognition is able to do a full measurement in less than 2 minutes.
Result window of QualiSperm™ Animal showing the most important parameters at one glance together with a schematic representation of the 4 measurement positions (A, B, C, and D).
Concentration (mill/ml), fraction of motile sperms (%), and fraction of sperms with droplet defects (%) are shown together with animal and sample identification numbers for easy assignment. Control of data quality is facilitated by a check mark which indicates that retrieved data are within preset limits.
System components
Compatible microscopes
We have carefully selected a range of compatible upright microscopes for their excellent optical properties and their support for increased customer flexibility:
- Leica (DM 1000, DM 2000, DM 3000)
- Nikon (Eclipse 50i, E200)
- Olympus (CX-41, BX-41)
- Zeiss (Primo Star, Axio Lab, Axio Examiner)
Camera
We equip our systems with a ½” CMOS detector with excellent sensitivity IDS uEYE UI-1545LE
Heating stage
QualiSperm™ Human is delivered with a electronically controlled heating stage which allows heating up to 45°C. The slide holder we specially developed for easy entry of all types of glass slides used in the clinical environment.
QualiSperm™ Human is combined with a very accurate heating stage from Tokai-Hit. The main advantage of this heating stage is that the entire surface of the slide is heated as compared to many other comparable solutions. Thus, the whole sample is perfectly evenly thermostated in order to minimize any temperature gradients in the sample.
Leaflet: System Components for QualiSperm for Animals
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