![Prenatal Screening in Real Time]()
Testing for fetal aneuploidy (an abnormal number of chromosomes) is a key part of prenatal testing. Traditional fetal anueploidy tests can take 7 to 21 days to complete, while newer and faster methods often require expensive machinery and are not well-suited to doctors’ offices. In a study published in Genetics, Zev Williams, M.D., and Shan Wei, Ph.D. adapted a DNA sequencing technology called MinIONTM to detect aneuploidy in prenatal and miscarriage samples in less than four hours. Such rapid detection of fetal aneuploidy should help identify aneuploidy earlier in the pregnancy and may allow for treatments that aren’t possible later on. The researchers believe that MinIONTM for prenatal tests can be used in doctors’ offices in real time. Dr. Williams is assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology and women's health and of genetics. Dr. Wei, the paper’s the lead author, is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Williams’ lab.
Posted on: Thursday, January 07, 2016