Sperm motility remains an indispensable part of semen analysis, as it is a predictor of male infertility. The WHO states that 40% or more sperms should be motile in a healthy fertile male (WHO 5th edition reference limit). Conventional semen analysis techniques, such as sperm morphology and motility, are still widely used in Andrology laboratories, even though interpretation can be subjective. In explaining infertility, these techniques cannot be taken in isolation as defects in sperm physiology alone cannot explain for all infertility cases. These techniques do offer the advantage of being simple test techniques that require minimal, inexpensive equipment, as well as being standardized to a certain degree as published test guidelines are available.
The SPMT432 (Sperm Motility) program will be launched in 2020. This is also the first EQA program offered by Oneworld Accuracy with online videos as samples. There will be three test events in a year, with two samples provided per test event. Each sample consists of a video clip with a play time of around 3-4 minutes, and 5-6 segments will be included per video. Each segment will display a microscopic field of a wet preparation of semen, as viewed under phase contrast optics and 400x magnification (40x objective). Participants will be asked to review motility patterns of at least 200 sperms and provide classification according to WHO 5th edition guidelines.
There is no need to log into any other website for viewing the video, as the video will be embedded into the OASYS Test Event Dashboard, meaning participants can view the video and submit results in the same browser. The video will be displayed in a Vimeo viewer, a widely used online video player with user friendly functionalities. The video will have a grid overlay that should assist participants in enumerating sperms.
This program can be ordered either online by logging into your OASYS account and accessing our online catalog, or by contacting our Oneworld Accuracy Support team.
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