Sperm Gone Smart: A Portable Device (iSperm ® ) to Assess Semen Concentration and Motility in Dogs.

The iSperm ® is a portable device for semen analysis. This study aimed to investigate its correlation with a conventional computer-assisted sperm analyzer (ISAS ® v1) for the assessment of semen concentration and kinematic parameters in dogs ( n = 224). The intra-assay variability of both devices and their ability to estimate semen concentration at a fixed value of 40 × 10 6 /mL were also investigated. Results showed that the intra-assay variability was lower for the ISAS ® v1 for all parameters compared to the iSperm ® . Hence, iSperm ® estimates were more variable in-between fields. Both the iSperm ® and the ISAS ® v1 were not reliable in estimating semen concentration (ISAS ® v1: median 30 × 10 6 /mL, interquartile range (IQR) 12, p < 0.01; iSperm ® : median 35.12 × 10 6 /mL, IQR 11.11, p < 0.01). Finally, positive correlations were found between both devices with stronger correlations obtained when four fields were analyzed by the iSperm ® . However, the low number of spermatozoa analyzed per field and the inability to avoid artifacts are downsides that currently limit the reliability of the iSperm ® . Therefore, the software of iSperm ® needs some improvement to make it a valid and practical alternative to automated computerized systems for the analysis of canine semen.