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Most couples want to know why they can't conceive and what they can do - either naturally or medically - to increase their chances for becoming pregnant. The SCSA® is an accurate and relatively inexpensive test to use prior to treatment. Remember, the classical semen analysis is a very poor predictor of male fertility.
Because the values from the routine semen test fluctuate so widely, your doctor might ask you to come back for one or two more semen analyses. In sharp contrast, the SCSA is a very constant feature, so if there have been no current toxic factors, a single test is considered sufficient. Furthermore, the routine semen analysis measures only what is seen on the outside of the sperm - the SCSA test measures what the light microscope cannot see, namely the extremely important integrity of the male genome. It's what on the inside that really counts!
SCSA Diagnostics goes far beyond the typical semen analysis tests by actually studying DNA fragmentation in 5000 sperm per sample, thereby providing statistical robustness far beyond any light microscope assays like microscope-TUNEL, the Halosperm kit or Comet assays. The SCSA test uses a sophisticated laser and computer-based instrument called a flow cytometer, and then special proprietary software, SCSA soft ®, to calculate the results.
In addition, SCSA Diagnostics invented the DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) to measure the thresholds of elevated sperm DNA fragmentation, one of the primary indicators of sperm vitality. Importantly, and totally unique to the SCSA test, each measurement determines not only the percent of sperm with fragmented DNA, but the percent of sperm with abnormal proteins (%HDS).
The SCSA test is ideally suited for the idiopathic infertile couple, that is, a couple in which the results from all routine tests for both the man and the woman fall within to near normal ranges. The SCSA test is available for doctors to order directly. Alternatively, individuals who will forego insurance reimbursement may order without a doctor's referral.