IIT Madras-led research team develops platform to test pregnant women for pre-eclampsia

In a remarkable achievement, an IIT Madras-led multi-institute research team has developed a platform that benefits pregnant women. 

This new biosensor platform has been developed by the research team to test pregnant women for pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening complication that occurs during pregnancy. 

Fibre optics sensor technology is used to screen pregnant women to help identify the condition at an early stage so that timely treatment can be provided. This can also help reduce both maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates.

What is pre-eclampsia?

According to the Mayo Clinic, pregnant women with pre-eclampsia might have high blood pressure, high levels of protein in urine that indicate kidney damage (proteinuria), or other signs of organ damage. 

Signs and symptoms may include:

-Excess protein in urine (proteinuria) or other signs of kidney problems

-Decreased levels of platelets in blood (thrombocytopenia)

-Increased liver enzymes that indicate liver problems

-Severe headaches

-Changes in vision, including temporary loss of vision, blurred vision or light sensitivity

-Shortness of breath, caused by fluid in the lungs

-Pain in the upper belly, usually under the ribs on the right side

-Nausea or vomiting

How does the platform work?

Usually, to detect pre-eclampsia, tests using the placental growth factor (PlGF) biomarker are widely used. This is because this biomarker peaks at 28 to 32 weeks in normal pregnancy but in the case of women with pre-eclampsia, it decreases by 2 to 3 times after 28 weeks of pregnancy. 

The research team developed polymeric optical fibre (POF) sensor probes that can measure PIGF within 30 minutes using the Plasmonic Fiber Optic Absorbance Biosensor (P-FAB) strategy. This makes it a cost-effective and efficient technology for pre-eclampsia diagnosis.

“The biosensor platform developed by the research team is simple and reliable, paving the way for affordable diagnosis. It can also lead to increasing the test coverage of Placental growth factor (PlGF) biomarker tests, thereby resulting in a potential for a significant impact on the management of pre-eclampsia and towards reduction in the global burden of mortality and morbidity from pre-eclampsia," said Prof. V.V. Raghavendra Sai, IIT Madras. 

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