The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a key U.S. agency responsible for public health, operating under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The CDC focuses on controlling and monitoring infectious diseases, preventing chronic diseases, promoting health security, and responding rapidly to health threats.
The CDC ensures the quality of newborn screening tests
The CDC supports newborn screening programs in the U.S. and over 80 other countries to ensure the accuracy of screening tests and promote early disease diagnosis.
The CDC’s Newborn Screening and Molecular Biology Branch (NSMBB), located in Atlanta, is responsible for ensuring that newborn screening tests are reliably conducted across the United States.
The NSMBB provides quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) materials, performance evaluation services, and technical support for newborn screening programs to ensure the analytical accuracy and effectiveness of the screening tests.
Kaptas’ equipment improves the quality of newborn blood sample screening
The NSMBB has faced challenges as the number of screened diseases has increased and the testing process has become more complex, creating a greater need for reliable quality assurance materials. The technology for screening has also become outdated.
To automate blood card processing and replace outdated equipment, the CDC required a new, modern equipment. However, there was no ready-made equipment on the market specifically for this purpose.
Kaptas won a public tender in autumn 2024 for the design and production of this equipment. Kaptas will deliver a robotized blood card dispensing and drying equipment with machine vision to the CDC in 2026.
The new equipment enables improved accuracy and speed in quality control for newborn screening, meeting the increased demand and enhancing screening quality.