Cheap New Down's Syndrome Pregnancy Test at Home Shows Results in 1 Minute with 90% Accuracy

A new and cheap but effective test allows pregnant women to screen for Down's syndrome in their home.

The British scientists who developed the test claim that it can offer instant results in a minute and that it performs at a 90 percent accuracy rate while being far cheaper compared to others. The test checks for specific proteins in the urine that is indicative of the disorder during a Down's pregnancy.

The developed urine test can be used eight weeks into pregnancy. The urine test results study was published online on the Clinical Proteomics journal.

"Our latest research has a greater than 90 per cent detection rate and on this basis, we're continuing to attract further investment to bring the test to as many women around the world within the coming months," said Ray Iles, corresponding author of the research.

"Our latest research has a greater than 90 per cent detection rate and on this basis, we're continuing to attract further investment to bring the test to as many women around the world within the coming months.

"We understand the anxiety every parent faces not knowing whether their baby will be affected by this serious disability and this has driven us to persist with our research," Iles said, adding that the research was "the result of a lifetime's work," according to UK Daily Mail.

Dr. Stephen Butler, the Chief Officer at MAP Diagnostics, said that their tests are "about making sophisticated technologies accessible and affordable to couples when then need them most."

"This will offer choice to women, and their partners, much earlier in pregnancy to enable difficult decisions to be made with confidence and without any additional pressures of time," Dr. Butler said.

Another screening method, called Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT), was found to be 99 percent accurate but only available in private hospitals, according to Belfast Telegraph. However, Iles said that the simple urine test "could bring a level of pre-natal healthcare that only the affluent West can afford."

"The beauty of this test is it's easy, the sample is non-invasive, it's very fast, it has a good detection rate and it's affordable."

Professor Howard Cuckle of New York's Columbia University who is an expert in antenatal screening told Belfast Telegraph: "This could be a major turning point in antenatal screening, which I am very excited about.

"The MAP test is much cheaper than current screening in many countries and vastly cheaper than the other new technique.

"If the reliability indicated in early studies is borne out in ongoing studies over the next few months then this is a completely disruptive technology. Its beauty lies in its simplicity."