Imagine a technology capable of performing various screening tests for infectious diseases recommended in pregnancy only from a drop of blood obtained through a simple finger prick. Well, such technology already exists.
Momoby, which is being developed by the CINTESIS researcher Ana Luísa Neves, has just won the third place of the IDEA INCUBATOR competition, right before dozens of other original inventions, products and devices developed by innovators and entrepreneurs from various parts of the world.
The competition was part of IDWeek, which took place in San Francisco, United States of America, from October 3 to 7. The IDWeek 2018 – Advancing Science, Improving Care, considered one of the largest global conferences on infectious diseases, annually brings together the largest experts and scientific societies in this area, namely the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America e a HIV Medicine Association and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
According to the researcher, “the prototype consists of a finger prick that allows to perform, in real time, key tests recommended during pregnancy.” In this way, Momoby “solves a problem found, for example, in small villages in the hinterland of Mozambique, where women had to travel for long hours to a hospital where they could have access to these screenings.”
Although in Portugal and in most developed countries all pregnant women carry out this type of screening periodically and free of charge, pregnant women in developing countries do not have the same opportunity.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that all pregnant women should be tested for HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B. However, the reality is far from meeting the recommendations. Annually, it is estimated that almost 300,000 women die due to problems related to infectious diseases during pregnancy.
As a volunteer medical doctor in Africa, particularly in Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique, Ana Luísa Neves has witnessed the difficulties of isolated communities where women do not have access to screening tests for these diseases.
Momoby’s goal is to reach out to all pregnant women as it is simple, fast and can be easily transported anywhere, allowing the health professional to diagnose immediately and send the problematic cases for treatment. This simple act will be able to reduce transmission of infectious diseases from mothers to babies by more than 95%.
Ana Luísa Neves is a researcher at CINTESIS, as well as an associate researcher at the Centre for Health Policy do Imperial College London and a volunteer lecturer at the Department of Community Medicine, Health Information and Decision – MEDCIDS / FMUP. Over the last few years she has won several awards and distinctions. In 2018 Momoby, of which she is CEO, had already won another prize in the Venture Catalyst Challenge (VCC).