A new type of home pregnancy test – using saliva instead of urine – is set to be launched on the European market next year, Israeli startup Salignostrics announced on Tuesday.
The SaliStick is the world’s first saliva-based rapid pregnancy test kit on the market. The product will be rolled out in stores and pharmacies in Europe, South Africa, and Israel sometime in the first quarter of 2023.
“The product is very simple, easy to use and provides accurate results within minutes,” the manufacturer said. The test works by detecting a certain pregnancy hormone found within human saliva.
The technology used in the new type of test was discovered when creating new screening tests for the Covid-19 virus. Guy Krief, co-founder of Salignostics, said that the new tests would “empower women by making the discovery of pregnancy more dignified and inclusive.”
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Salignostrics claims that the pregnancy test can be used from the first day of a missed period with good accuracy.
According to preliminary data, the test has a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 97%. Each year, around 840 million traditional pregnancy tests are sold globally.
