Pregnancy Test (hCG)

THE PROBLEM

Pregnancy testing is a fundamental part of reproductive health. Knowledge of the presence or absence of pregnancy is fundamental to determining a range of medical and life choices. Worldwide, an estimated 44% of pregnancies are unintended. Translated this means there are 62 unintended pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-44. Although estimations don’t exist, women with unintended pregnancies are more likely to recognize their pregnancies late. Late recognition has been shown to be associated with poor birth outcomes like premature birth, low-birth-weight, and NICU admissions.

THE SOLUTION

The core of the pregnancy tests is the detection of the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in urine. hCG is a hormone produced by a woman in pregnancy, as it is released when a fertilized egg embeds in the uterine wall.  We offer a range of pregnancy tests, including basic and high sensitivity dipstick urine tests with fast and accurate readouts. Urine tests are most reliable when used 2-3 weeks after potential conception. This test is an antigen-capture immunochromatographic assay.

The test is done by holding the testing strip vertically into a container containing a urine or serum sample until the sample has migrated to the test window. The testing strip is then laid flat. The test works by detecting hCG in the serum or urine sample as it flows through the assay by first hCG antibodies conjugated with colloidal gold that attach to hCG and provide a “visual tag” for the antigen-antibody-colloidal gold complex and second, by a test zone with immobilized antibodies that capture the complex, the visual tags producing a visible pink-colored band that is confirmation of the presence of hCG. If there is no pink line, hCG is not present, indicating a negative result for pregnancy. Results are ready in 10 minutes.