Related Experiment Videos
A Paper-Based Test for Screening Newborns for Sickle Cell Disease.
Nathaniel Z Piety1, Alex George2, Sonia Serrano3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Scientific Reports
|April 4, 2017
Summary
A new, low-cost paper test can detect sickle cell disease (SCD) in newborns without electricity or complex equipment. This innovation could significantly improve newborn screening accessibility in resource-limited regions worldwide.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Diagnostics
- Point-of-Care Testing
- Global Health
Background:
- Conventional newborn screening for sickle cell disease (SCD) is often hindered by high costs, complexity, and reliance on specialized infrastructure.
- Resource-limited settings, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, face significant challenges in implementing sustainable SCD screening programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a simple, low-cost, rapid, and equipment-free paper-based diagnostic test for detecting sickle hemoglobin (HbS) in newborns.
- To assess the feasibility of this paper-based test for improving the practicality and cost-effectiveness of universal newborn SCD screening in resource-limited areas.
Main Methods:
- Development of a paper-based assay for detecting HbS in dried blood spots from newborns.
- Validation of the paper-based test against conventional isoelectric focusing (IEF) in a cohort of 159 newborns in Angola.
- Evaluation of the test's sensitivity and specificity for HbS detection and SCD diagnosis.
Main Results:
- The paper-based test demonstrated a limit of detection of 2% HbS.
- For HbS detection, the test achieved 81.8% sensitivity and 83.3% specificity.
- For SCD newborn identification, the test showed 100.0% sensitivity and 70.7% specificity.
Conclusions:
- The paper-based test offers a practical, electricity-free solution for newborn screening of SCD in resource-limited settings.
- Implementing a two-stage screening process using this test could reduce the need for expensive confirmatory testing by approximately 70% without missing SCD cases.
- This technology has the potential to significantly enhance the accessibility and sustainability of universal newborn SCD screening programs globally.