About the NIPT test
NIPT, or Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing, is a non-invasive screening test used to detect additions and deletions in specific chromosomes that cause significant syndromes (Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome and Patau syndrome), as well as sex chromosome disorders.
The MaterniT Focus test was developed by Sequnom, the company we collaborate with, and is based on exclusive patents. The test was developed in order to avoid the need for invasive tests that can endanger the fetus as well as the mother. This was made possible thanks to the discovery of free DNA present in the blood of pregnant women that originates in the placenta; this discovery led researchers to develop, for the first time, a method for the analysis of free DNA - thus making it possible to identify mutations in the fetus. The reliability of this test has been proven time and again in millions of tests.
The uniqueness of MaterniT Focus is that in order to perform it, only 2% of the free DNA in the mother's blood must be from a placental source, compared to 4% in competing tests. This figure means that our test will provide more reliable and definitive results compared to other tests, which will not be able to obtain a result, or whose results will not be unequivocal.
In order to perform MaterniT Focus, only one blood test is required, instead of the two required for other tests, and the percentage of definitive results obtained is higher.
As of 2013, the NIPT test has been approved for clinical use in Israel by the Ministry of Health. According to the Ministry of Health website, "A blood test performed using maternal blood has a very high detection rate (about 99%), and it is possible that in the future, this test will replace screening tests for fetuses with Down syndrome as well as prenatal tests such as chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis."
