SCA® a tool for research and education

After the clinics and research labs, the SCA is now finding it’s way into the classrooms!

The Problem-based Learning (PBL) pedagogical model of Aalborg University has become both nationally and internationally recognized by universities, researchers and students as an advanced and efficient learning model. In this model, the students need to put what they learn in use by working analytically and according to interdisciplinary and problem-result oriented methods.

The fertility clinic of Aalborg University Hospital has owned the SCA system since 2012 where it has been involved in two ongoing PhD studies including human and animal sperm analysis.

Following a brief introduction of the Sperm Class Analyzer (SCA) CASA system and the possibilities it can provide in research during the “pre-clinical research” course; the SCA has now become a prominent tool of interest with the students of Medicine and Medis (medicine with industrial specialization) who are looking to put their learned theories lessons in the field of male reproduction into practice in actual research projects.

The fact that the students can actually see the sperm movement along with the superimposed trajectory by the SCA, allows for a much deeper and yet easier understanding of the sperm motility as a biomarker of it’s quality.

To date, the SCA has been involved in over 11 BSc. and MSc. student projects, which have attended some basic but very practical problems including:

• High caffeine consumption and the risk of infertility in Danish men in the reproductive age
• The relation between physical activity and sperm quality assessed at different temperatures and hours
• The effect of personal lubricants on sperm function parameters in-vitro
• The Effect of Electromagnetic Radiation Emitted by Mobile Phone on Sperm Quality
• …

After the clinics and research labs, the SCA is now finding it’s way into the classrooms where recordings and assessments by the SCA can provide the students with a great insight into the quality assessment of the sperm and the various parameters as biomarkers of male fertility.

It has been a great privilege for me to be able to use my experience of over 5 years with the SCA in supervising and guiding the students towards a better understanding of sperm quality parameters and functional tests.