PORTEFEUILLE

Preterm birth (PTB) is one of the main challenges in healthcare; it is the first cause of death of infants, while survivors face high chances of disability. Today, doctors have few ways to identify women at risk of premature birth; they are patients with either symptoms of delivery or a high-risk profile (such as previous preterm birth, short cervix, > 35 years of age, IVF pregnancies). However, half of the women who deliver prematurely fulfil NONE of these conditions. Such women are left with an undetected risk of preterm birth and thus higher chances of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Our mission is to identify all women at risk of a premature birth so that all babies live up to their full potential!

Rea develops a first of its kind diagnostic test, accessible for ALL pregnant women to frequently self-test their risk of a preterm birth with the latest technology. Rea's Smart Pad analyzes vaginal secretions of pregnant women for proteins indicative of birth and sends the test results to Rea's phone app.
Rea’s non-invasive technology would decrease the rates of preterm birth by allowing early detection; it would help doctors identify patients for medical interventions to delay delivery and to help mature the organs of the baby. Such early detection of preterm birth helps doctors prepare for optimal neonatal care and potentially decrease the time spent in the incubator, resulting in huge cost savings. 

Thanks to the InnoBooster grant we could successfully develop new approaches for the detection of preterm birth and implement the first clinical observational study for our In-Vitro Diagnostic components.
We could start the regulatory process to obtain market certification and enrich the team with highly skilled expert in the development of diagnostic devices.
Next stages include the characterization of the analytical behavior of the sensing systems and determination of its clinical performance throughout clinical trials that will be carried out on a large cohort of pregnant women. Upon certification we aim to commercialize our self-test solution to all pregnant women and thus significantly improve the detection of Preterm birth and its associated burden.