Artificial intelligence fluorescence method versus traditional flow cytometry for detection of sperm DFI in oligospermia patients

LIN Shao-bin; WANG Gui-quan; LI Ping

doi:10.13263/j.cnki.nja.2025.02.003

Abstract：Objective:To explore the influence of oligospermia(OS)on the detection of sperm DNA fragmentation index(DFI)by fluorescence method based on artificial intelligence(AI)recognition and flow cytometry-based sperm chromatin structure as-say(SCSA).Methods:We collected semen samples from 201 males,including 50 azoospermia(AS)patients as negative controls,90 OS patients(sperm concentration＞0 × 106/ml and＜15 × 106/ml),and 61 normal men(sperm concentration ≥15 ×106/ml).Then we subdivided the OS patients into a mild OS(sperm concentration ≥10 × 106/ml and＜15 × 106/ml),a moderate OS(sperm concentration ≥5 × 106/ml and＜10 × 106/ml)and a severe/extremely severe OS group(sperm concentration＞0 × 106/ml and＜5 × 106/ml),with 30 cases in each group,and compared the results of DFI detection between the AI fluorescence method and tradi-tional flow cytometry.Results:The DFI value detected by AI fluorescence method showed statistically significant difference from that detected by flow cytometry in the AS,moderate OS and severe/extremely severe OS groups(P＜0.01),the former even lower than the latter,but not in the normal control and the mild OS groups(P＞0.05).In the AS group,a dramatically lower rate of non-0 results was achieved by AI fluorescence method than by flow cytometry(8％vs 100％,P＜0.01).The DFI values detected by AI fluores-cence method exhibited a good linear correlation to those obtained by flow cytometry in the normal control and mild OS groups(β2=0.7470;R2=0.7180),but a poor linear correlation in the OS full-sample,moderate OS and severe/extremely severe OS groups(R2=0.3092;R2=0.3558;R2=0.2147).Conclusion:The AI fluorescence method has a higher specificity and is more suitable than flow cytometry for detection of sperm DFI in OS patients.The DFI values obtained by the two methods are consistent with sperm concen-tration ≥10 × 106/ml,but the accuracy of the results of detection may be affected with sperm concentration＞0 × 106/ml and＜10 × 106/ml.