Cordlife Group Limited
Annual Report 2016
18
Products and Services Spotlight:
Non-Invasive Newborn
Metabolic Screening
Metascreen: a Comprehensive Metabolic
Screening Test for Newborn Babies
Metascreen is a marketing trademark of Cordlife (Hong
Kong) Limited and is a comprehensive non-invasive
metabolic screening test for newborn babies. About
1 in every 1,250 babies is expected to be born with a
metabolic disorder.
5
Babies with such disorders lack
enzymes to maintain normal metabolic functions, resulting
in a build-up of toxic substances or de ciency of critical
substances. Though rare, if left untreated, metabolic
disorders can cause serious developmental issues and
lifelong complications such as mental retardation, physical
disability and in some instances, death.
Metascreen is a highly accurate newborn screening
test, as it combines the use of US FDA approved Gas
Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry coupled with
proprietary Planar Diagnostic Tool to detect up to
106 metabolic disorders. Unlike traditional newborn
metabolic screening tests that use blood as test
specimens, Metascreen utilises urine specimens for
testing. In metabolic biochemistry, the human body
has complex homeostatic mechanisms, which rapidly
excrete redundant or toxic compounds that exceed the
body’s desired levels. These compounds do not increase
signi cantly in blood but are excreted in large amounts
into urine. This makes urine an effective test specimen for
the detection of metabolic disorders.
5
This cumulative incidence rate is based on Meta100+ panel of metabolic disorders.
