Commercial application of confirm~(TM), a non-invasive pregnancy test system, in Australia

摘要

Current methods of pregnancy testing require the use of potentially hazardous techniques which carry the risk of inducing abortions or transmitting disease. Confirm~(TM) is an ELISA test which accurately measures the levels of oestrone sulphate (OS) in cows milk, from a sample collected either specifically for pregnancy testing or routine composition analysis. As a viable foetus becomes implanted in utero, the placenta produces increasing levels of OS which become expressed in the milk. When the OS levels rise above a cut-off value (150 pg/ml), the cow can be diagnosed as pregnant. The rate at which the OS levels in milk rise varies between cows. By 60 days pregnant 40 percent of cows will have OS levels above 100 pg/ml and by 100 days pregnant 99 percent will be above 100 pg/ml.