What is the world's first saliva-based pregnancy test launched in the UK?

The time when women had to make a covert trip to the toilets to perform ‘pee on a stick’ pregnancy tests is long gone. Superdrug, a high-street drugstore business, has started selling a groundbreaking product that can detect pregnancy in women just by examining their saliva. Salistick, according to The Metro, is the only device in the world that can identify pregnancy based solely on a “spit test.” It is accessible in the UK and Ireland and gives women an alternative to conventional pregnancy tests. Rapid saliva-based pregnancy tests A start-up in Jerusalem named Salignostics created the saliva-based pregnancy test kit. The manufacturer claimed that it is based on the same technology that creates COVID-19 testing kits. The innovative solution allows women to conduct the tests anytime, anyplace, and with more people in participation. The £9.99 (~Rs 1,047) Salistick displays the results within three minutes. The test is based on technology that recognises hCG, a hormone unique to pregnancy that aids in getting the uterus ready for the embryo’s development. Salistick, according to its developers, offers extremely accurate early pregnancy detection. [caption id=“attachment_12764382” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Although it is quick and simple to use, consumers must wait 30 minutes after eating or drinking before taking the test. Image Courtesy: Salistick[/caption] Salignostics, a company founded by a group of academics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, introduced their product in 2016 after conducting clinical trials on more than 300 women in Israel, both pregnant and not, according to Wion News. As per Dailymail, Caris Newson, the healthcare director at Superdrug, expressed the pharmacy’s pride in providing a new method for women to determine whether they are pregnant. “The first at-home urine pregnancy test was launched nearly 50 years ago and until now there haven’t been many advancements in this category. We are proud to help our customers by bringing them this new, innovative product,” she said. “Saliva is the key to rapid diagnostics for a variety of medical reasons. It is the only non-invasive, easy, and hygienic means to detect hormones, viruses, and even diseases,” said Prof Aaron Palmon, co-founder of Salignostics according to Wion, adding, “With SaliStick, we leverage the powerful diagnostics abilities we have been able to create from analyzing saliva. This product completely removes the need for blood and urine samples when testing for pregnancy.” Dailymail quoted Abingdon Health chief executive officer Chris Yates as adding, “This novel technology provides women with an enhanced user experience; offering the ability to test anywhere, anytime, and for the testing experience to be shared with a partner and other loved ones.” Due to its distinctive and cutting-edge user experience, the saliva-based pregnancy stick is predicted to be particularly susceptible to market share. Also read: In US, a birth 48 hours after learning about pregnancy: How can a woman not know she’s expecting? The procedure In order for the test to be effective, a woman must briefly place a foam-tipped stick from the kit in her mouth to act as a thermometer. This is used to gather a saliva sample. According to The Metro, she will transfer it to a plastic tube where a biological reaction will occur. The company says the results can be read in five to fifteen minutes, and preliminary results can be seen as early as three minutes. Although it is quick and simple to use, consumers must wait 30 minutes after eating or drinking before taking the test. It can be used starting on the first day of a missed period to test for pregnancy. For the unversed, the hormone known as “the pregnancy hormone,” human chorionic gonadotropin, is produced when a fertilised egg adheres to the uterine wall. Most couples who are actively trying to conceive will become pregnant within a year, though rates vary depending on age, general health, and other factors. The availability of the product Salistick will be accessible in the UK and Ireland at 400 Superdrug locations and online. According to an old Times of Israel article, Salignostics obtained approval for Salistick’s European Union marketing last year. According to digital publication Open Access Government, it’s also accessible in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa. Additionally, it has requested FDA authorisation to market the product in the US. With a monthly production capacity of one million units, the company has developed a new manufacturing facility in the Lavon Industrial Zone in Northern Israel to support the commercialization of SaliStick. The company has so far secured $16 million in total capital investment to support sales, marketing, and R&D, and is still looking for more money from investors, reported Wion. Also read: Explained: Why are pregnant Russian women flocking to Argentina amid the Ukraine war? History of pregnancy tests The saliva test is the most recent technique in the lengthy and peculiar history of pregnancy divination. An ancient papyrus record from 1350 BC states that the Egyptians advised peeing on barley and wheat seeds, reported Dailymail. Barley seeds were supposed to predict a male, whereas wheat seeds predicted a girl. If neither grew, the lady was not carrying a child. A pregnant woman’s urine includes high levels of several hormones that may aid to promote germination, according to scientists, who feel that there may have been some truth to what may otherwise be written off as an old wives’ story. Reliable tests were developed in the 1920s, but these required injecting the woman’s urine into a variety of small animals, including mice, rabbits, and frogs. They would ovulate if hCG was present. Inconvenient tests that required women to mix their urine with dried sheep blood first surfaced in the 1970s. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. 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