Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing for trisomies 13, 18 and 21
Non-Invasive Prenatal screening Test is an innovative genetic test for pregnant women at risk of foetal Down syndrome (trisomy 21), Edwards’ syndrome (trisomy 18), Patau syndrome (trisomy 13).
NEW
Today, this test also makes it possible to screen for other rarer chromosome abnormalities: autosomal abnormalities, deletions and duplications greater than 7 megabases.
It can be performed with a single blood sample obtained from 10 weeks (gestational age) which is equivalent to being 8 weeks pregnant.
Rapid, reliable and safe, NIPT is a screening option that enables detection of trisomies 13, 18 and 21 while limiting the required number of invasive tests (amniocentesis…).
How does it work?
Besides maternal DNA, the blood of pregnant women contains foetal DNA originating from the placenta.
The identification of this foetal DNA in the maternal blood, combined with the development of a new technology (Next Generation Sequencing) capable of counting all genetic material sequences in a maternal blood sample, makes it possible to determine whether a trisomy is present in the foetus.