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The Sherwood Model 260 Colorimeter is used in the pig breeding industry to measure the density of boar semen. This is a vital determination for the suppliers of Artificial Insemination doses. The measured density dictates how many viable doses can be made up from one sample.  Those doses are then supplied to pig farmers who rely on artificial insemination as a procedure to make their own business more viable. Both supplier and customer then, depend heavily on the accuracy of this measurement to maximise yield.

The Model 260, unlike other colorimeters, can be re-calibrated from time to time, at bulb change for example.  On delivery, a physical secondary standard is calibrated once against an accurately measured haemocytometer counted sample.  A value is assigned to the secondary filter and from then on this can be used to quickly check the calibration of the Model 260.  This approach saves time and money as it eliminates the need to send samples to a central laboratory to be counted and waiting for the result to come back before production can continue.

The other main advantage of using the Model 260 is that it can display the result of a measurement directly in sperm counts per ml without the need to refer to a calibration curve.

This method was successfully used across Europe for many years using the Corning CHROMA Model 257, the predecessor to Sherwood Model 257 which is replaced by the current Model 260.

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