Method agreement between measuring of boar sperm concentration using Makler chamber and photometer

Abstract

Determination of boar sperm concentration using a photometer is used routinely by many artificial insemination (AI) laboratories. The agreement between determining sperm concentration using Makler chamber and a photometer has been assessed. Method agreement was evaluated on the basis of scatter plots with Deming regression line, absolute bias plots with limits of agreement, and relative bias plots. Coefficients of variance for the Makler chamber and a photometer were calculated as 6.575±3.461% and 1.635±0.632%, respectively, showing acceptable precision for both methods. The estimated Deming regression equation indicates that the points are close to the line of equality, and the SE of the slope (0.0600) indicates that there is almost no pivoting of the line about the central point through the means of x and y. The estimated intercept for the regression line (4.7069 M/mL) does not differ greatly. Average absolute bias was close to zero at -1.092±15.237 M/mL. Sperm counts obtained with the Makler chamber and photometer agree; 90% of the differences lie within the limits of agreement. The simplicity of sperm counting with a photometer greatly enhances the usefulness of sperm count determination in on-farm AI laboratories.