COMPUTER ANALYSIS OF CASA EJACULATE: ADVANTAGES AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

Computer-assisted ejaculate analysis (CASA) is one of the ways to assess morphokinetic parameters of spermatozoa and is intended to simplify manual assessment of ejaculate by a specialist. CASA is characterized by high objectivity and representativeness of the study, a large number of investigated parameters, high study speed, automatic data capturing, short staff training time, and possibility of sperm hyperactivation assessment. To date, a number of problems remain in the use of this technique, such as dependence on hardware and software, the need for internal quality control and the possibility of false-positive or false-negative results. However, with the development of technology there are plans to overcome these difficulties. In the future, the transition from calculating changes in the position of the sperm cell head to the evaluation of the flagellar wave is expected, which will help to avoid errors, and better characterize the kinetic characteristics of the cells. Possible development of CASA could be new ways of using the technique, such as evaluation of the number of antisperm antibodies, determination of DNA fragmentation level, improving the quality of sperm selection for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) program.