Cryolab is attending Spermatology 2026 this week at the University of Birmingham, the XVth International Symposium on Spermatology running from 29 July to 2 August 2026. It is a milestone event for the global andrology and reproductive science community, and a significant one for Cryolab. An independent study featuring the SpermScope, Cryolab’s reusable cell analysis chamber, is being presented as a poster abstract at the symposium by Dr Bryan Woodward of X&Y Fertility.

This article covers what the study found, what it means for UK IVF and andrology laboratories, and why independent validation through UKNE

QAS samples matters for any analysis chamber in clinical use.

About Spermatology 2026

The International Symposium on Spermatology (ISS) was founded in 1969 and has been held 14 times across nine countries in the decades since. The 2026 edition at the University of Birmingham is the first time the symposium has ever been held in the UK. It brings together researchers from across human, mammalian, agricultural, plant and marine reproductive science under the shared focus of sperm function and the future of reproduction research.

The four-day programme at the University of Birmingham’s Great Hall and The Bramall covers spermatogenesis and genetics, ejaculation and the fertilisation environment, sperm function through to the oocyte, and the broader scientific picture of sperm biology. The symposium is chaired by Professor Jackson Kirkman-Brown MBE, with Dr Meurig Gallagher as co-chair. It is a gathering that represents the most current thinking in reproductive science from institutions around the world.

Who Is Dr Bryan Woodward?

Dr Bryan Woodward BSc, MMedSci, PhD, FRCPath is the Scientific Director of X&Y Fertility in Leicester, a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, and one of the most experienced reproductive scientists working in UK andrology. He has been a reproductive scientist since 1990, beginning his career at Sheffield Fertility Centre. His PhD, undertaken at the University of Nottingham under Professor Keith Campbell, the scientist whose team produced Dolly the sheep, focused on intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Over a career spanning more than 30 years, Dr Woodward has helped establish IVF and andrology clinics in the UK, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Clinical Embryologists, sits on the ESHRE Embryology Certification Steering Committee, and is a subeditor for the journal Human Fertility. He is also the HFEA Person Responsible at the London branch of the European Sperm Bank and the Scientific Director of the British Sperm Bank.

His work on measurement uncertainty in andrology, analysis chamber validation, and best practice standards makes him an authoritative independent voice on the performance of laboratory equipment used in clinical andrology.

The Study: SpermScope vs Makler vs UKNEQAS Target Values

The poster abstract presented at Spermatology 2026, titled P32: Do two different non-sterile metallic analysis chambers provide accurate estimates of sperm concentration compared to known target values provided by UKNEQAS?, addresses a specific and clinically important question.

The WHO manual for the laboratory examination of semen recommends the improved Neubauer chamber as the gold standard for sperm concentration assessment. However, in the practical reality of UK IVF clinics, particularly on the day of treatment or sperm freezing, many laboratories use non-sterile metallic analysis chambers to provide rapid concentration estimates, accepting the higher measurement uncertainty this involves compared to the Neubauer.

The Makler chamber, launched in the 1980s and manufactured by Sefi Medical Instruments in Israel, has been the dominant metallic counting chamber in IVF laboratories worldwide for decades. In 2025, the SpermScope, manufactured by Cryolab in the UK, became available as a new alternative. Both chambers use a similar design: 10 microlitres of fluid is transferred onto a 100-square grid on the base, a circular coverslip is overlaid providing an estimated depth of around 10 micrometres, and concentration is estimated by counting all 100 squares and dividing by ten.

The study used 40 physical sperm samples preserved in 10 percent formalin, provided by the UK National External Quality Assessment Service for Reproductive Science (UKNEQAS RS). UKNEQAS RS, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and accredited by UKAS against ISO/IEC 17043:2023, had pre-established the target concentration in all 40 samples. This is the same external quality assessment scheme used by licensed UK andrology laboratories to benchmark their own performance. Using UKNEQAS samples as the reference material gives the study a credibility and independence that laboratory-prepared samples could not provide.

The study was conducted by a single andrologist in an HFEA-licensed clinic using a calibrated pipettor and sterile tips. Statistical comparisons used Student’s T-tests with significance set at p less than 0.05, and correlations were calculated for each chamber against the UKNEQAS target values.

What the Results Showed

The findings deserve to be read carefully and accurately.

Neither the Makler nor the SpermScope provided statistically accurate estimates of sperm concentration when compared to the established UKNEQAS target values. Both showed significant differences from target (p less than 0.05). This finding is consistent with what is already understood about the limitations of non-sterile metallic analysis chambers compared to the Neubauer gold standard, and it aligns with the WHO’s position that these chambers are not recommended for diagnostic semen analysis.

The important finding for UK andrology laboratories is what happens when the two chambers are compared to each other and in their correlation to the UKNEQAS targets.

When the concentrations from the Makler and the SpermScope were compared directly to one another, there was no significant difference (p greater than 0.05). For 72.5 percent of the 40 samples, the difference in concentration between the two chambers was five million per millilitre or less.

In terms of correlation against UKNEQAS target values, the SpermScope performed better than the Makler: R squared 0.77 versus R squared 0.68. A higher R squared indicates a stronger linear relationship between the chamber’s estimates and the known target values, meaning the SpermScope’s readings tracked the UKNEQAS targets more closely than the Makler’s across the sample set.

Dr Woodward also noted that using the same phase contrast optics, the SpermScope’s field of view was slightly darker, and this increased contrast appeared to help in identifying sperm where low concentrations were present, a practically significant observation for the scenario where accurate counting is most difficult.

The conclusion reached is clinically clear: since both analysis chambers provide similar results, the SpermScope cell analysis chamber could be used instead of the Makler counting chamber, and in this study had a slightly higher correlation to target values.

What This Means for UK IVF and Andrology Laboratories

The practical implication of Dr Woodward’s findings is straightforward for UK laboratories currently using a Makler chamber on treatment and freezing days.

The Makler has been the default non-sterile metallic counting chamber in IVF laboratories since the 1980s. Its position was established not through head-to-head validation studies against known targets, but through decades of use and familiarity. Dr Woodward’s study is one of the first to formally compare both chambers against externally verified UKNEQAS target concentrations in the same experimental conditions, conducted in a licensed UK clinical setting.

The study has limitations that Dr Woodward acknowledges directly in the abstract: the sample size of 40 is relatively modest, although sufficient for the statistical comparisons performed. Neither chamber carries CE marking. The SpermScope holds UKCA marking, UK Conformity Assessed, which is the UK’s post-Brexit equivalent of the CE mark for products placed on the UK market. Neither chamber is WHO-recommended for diagnostic semen analysis, and this study does not change that position.

What the study does establish is that the SpermScope performs comparably to an established reference instrument that has been trusted in IVF laboratories worldwide for over 40 years, with a slightly higher correlation to externally validated target values and a potential practical advantage in low-concentration scenarios.

For UK laboratories reviewing their andrology equipment or setting up new andrology services, the SpermScope now has independent validation data presented at an international symposium to support its use alongside or instead of the Makler.

About the SpermScope

The SpermScope cell analysis chamber is manufactured by Cryolab in the UK. It is a UKCA-marked, reusable cell analysis chamber designed for use in IVF and andrology laboratory settings on treatment and freezing days, where a rapid, practical concentration estimate is needed alongside the clinical workflow.

As a reusable chamber, the SpermScope reduces the per-sample consumable cost compared to single-use alternatives, while the UKCA marking reflects its compliance with UK conformity assessment requirements for medical devices placed on the UK market.

The SpermScope is available alongside the full range of andrology and cell analysis consumables supplied by Cryolab to UK fertility clinics, NHS trusts and sperm banks. Browse the full Cryolab sperm analysis range here. For pricing and availability, contact the Cryolab team or use CryoGPT, Cryolab’s AI assistant for IVF laboratory product guidance.

References

Woodward, B. (2026). P32: Do two different non-sterile sperm metallic analysis chambers provide accurate estimates of sperm concentration compared to known target values provided by UKNEQAS? Poster abstract presented at the XVth International Symposium on Spermatology, University of Birmingham, 29 July to 2 August 2026.

World Health Organization (2021). WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen, 6th edition. Geneva: World Health Organization.

UK National External Quality Assessment Service for Reproductive Science (UKNEQAS RS). Part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Accredited by UKAS against ISO/IEC 17043:2023. Manchester: Saint Mary’s Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

International Symposium on Spermatology XVth Edition (2026). University of Birmingham, 29 July to 2 August 2026. Chair: Professor Jackson Kirkman-Brown MBE. Co-chair: Dr Meurig Gallagher.

X&Y Fertility, Leicester, UK. Scientific Director: Dr Bryan Woodward BSc, MMedSci, PhD, FRCPath.