IQ Products

IQ Products is an global developer, manufacturer and supplier of a range of antibody based diagnostic products. IQProducts, with headquartered in the Netherlands, was founded in 1987 in cooperation with the University of Groningen, in The Netherlands. Extensive know-how resulted in the development of innovative kits in niche areas and currently focuses on Women’s Health and pregnancy related disorders in particular.

Flow cytometry is one of their specialties and very suitable for detecting rare cells in large populations. Over the years IQ Products has developed different diagnostic assays to detect these rare cell populations primarily based on high quality antibodies, for instance the Fetal Cell Count™ Kit. Currently the Research & Development of the company are focussed on pregnancy related disorders like pre-eclampsia (PE) and intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Fetomaternal Hemorrhage (FMH)

Fetomaternal Hemorrhage (FMH) is the transplacental passage of fetal red blood cells (fRBCs) into the maternal circulation. Severe FMH, caused by complications in abdominal trauma, suspected placental injury or a cesarean section, among others, can lead to intra-uterine death. On another note, in case of antigen (RhD) incompatibility between mother and child, FMH may result in Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn. In this case, correct enumeration of the amount of fRBCs is essential for (prophylactic) anti-D therapy.

FMH detection kits:

• Fetal Cell Count™ Kit: Unique quantification of FMH by flow cytometry, base don the patented combination of anti-fetal hemoflobin and carbonic anhydrase, that allows to differentiate between fetal and maternal HbF+ cells. IVD-CE
• FMH QuikQuant™: Flow cytometric method for FMH detecion and quantification in <1h (15min hands-on time), based on the use of anti-HbF and propidium iodide (PI) as specific marker for nucleated cells. IVD-CE
• FETALtrol™ 2: Tri-level stabilized blood controls with known human fetal erythrocytes content in human adult blood. IVD-CE

Heparin-induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT)

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is an acute, immune-mediated process that may result in life-threatening thrombosis. Even though relatively common, HIT is often an under-recognized devastating complication of heparin therapy. With early recognition and proper treatment, the consequences are largely preventable. Two different type of assays are used for HIT diagnosis: immunological and functional assays.

• HIT Alert™ Kit: Functional assay for the evaulation of platelet activation. Based on Flow cytometry, HIT Alert ™ follows non-radioactive methodology, providing results in <2h. IVD-CE

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Figure 1. Dotplots illustrating typical data obtained with the Fetal Cell Count™ kit: A) FSC/SSC plot to identify the red blood cell population. B) FSC-A/FSC-W plot to exclude doublets. C) CA-FITC/HbF plot to identify fetal red blood cells (UL).