L2M Market Assessment Grant: a bioassay to predict birth timing.

怀孕妇女的足月分娩发生在从妊娠第38周开始到妊娠第42周结束的5周期间。然而，没有办法表明这几周中的哪周会真正发生分娩。我们的产品是一种生物测定法，旨在模拟递送过程中的自然发生，在7天内确定递送，准确度为>91%，在4天内甚至更高。该检测的原理是，胎儿周围的胎膜（羊膜、绒毛膜）产生趋化信号，并在分娩前的最后3-7天释放。这个信号既能吸引循环中的白细胞，又能激活它们。被吸引的白细胞会迁移到子宫中，在那里它们会锚定，然后释放炎症介质，导致从怀孕到分娩的过渡。我们可以通过一种简单的、无创的抽血来测试，这种抽血可以在怀孕最后一个月的每周产前检查中获得。它的新颖之处在于它是唯一一种评估足月出生时间的生物测定方法。

Term delivery in pregnant women occurs over a five-week period from the beginning of the 38th week of gestation to the end of the 42nd week. There are no means to indicate, however, which of these weeks the delivery will actually occur. Our product, a bioassay, is designed to mimic a natural occurrence in the delivery process that determines delivery within 7 days with accuracy >91% and even higher accuracy within 4 days. The principle of the assay is that a chemotactic signal is produced by the fetal membranes (amnion, chorion) surrounding the baby and is released in the final 3-7 days before labour begins. This signal both attracts circulating white blood cells and activates them. The attracted white blood cells will physically migrate into the uterus where they will anchor and then release inflammatory mediators causing the transition from pregnancy to labour and delivery. We can test this with a simple, non-invasive blood draw, which can be obtained at weekly prenatal visits during the final month of pregnancy. Its novelty is it is the only bioassay to assess the timing of birth at term.