Although SPN is not a commercial enterprise, it does put knowledge first. The foundation is therefore a perfect fit for Science Park, where it has been renting space in the Mercator I building since this spring.
SPN is the licence holder for prenatal screening under the Dutch Population Screening Act (Wet op het bevolkingsonderzoek, Wbo). Various forms of prenatal screening are available during pregnancy, such as the NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Test) and the 13- and 20-week ultrasound scans. This also includes counselling – a consultation that pregnant women and their partners can attend – so that they can make an informed choice about whether they wish to undergo prenatal screening. SPN coordinates prenatal screening and counselling for the Nijmegen region and oversees the quality of these services. Incidentally, the ‘Nijmegen region’ stretches from Enschede to Tilburg: there are seven such regional centres in the Netherlands, each centred around a university medical centre.
Setting and enforcing quality standards
Annette Stolwijk, director of SPN, explains how this quality assurance works in practice. ‘We have contracts with service providers throughout the region: prenatal clinics, ultrasound centres and hospitals. The pregnant person usually registers with her midwife, or sometimes at the hospital, where she is asked if she would like to know more about prenatal screening. If the answer is yes, she will have an in-depth discussion at one of the 110 counselling practices in the region about what it entails and receive guidance on her choice. This discussion also addresses the fact that the outcome of the screening can have far-reaching consequences. ‘You might be told that your child has a condition – do you want to know that? Our role in this process is to ensure that such a consultation is only conducted by healthcare professionals who meet specific quality standards. You must be trained for this and undertake relevant further training, so that you are fully aware of what is possible and permitted.’
Requirements also apply to who is authorised to take and analyse blood samples or carry out the 13- and 20-week scans for NIPT and these scans. This supervision takes place in advance, by only entering into contracts with providers who meet all the requirements, and subsequently through measures such as audits. ‘If we take the scans as an example, we visit the 45 scan centres in the region from time to time to check whether they comply with national regulations. There are also agreements on the number of scans sonographers must carry out to maintain sufficient experience. And we request images to assess their quality.’
In short, there is a considerable amount of organisation involved in ensuring the quality of prenatal screening, confirms Stolwijk. ‘But as a result, we do have an excellent range of services available to all pregnant women throughout the Netherlands.’
Knowledge exchange
This spring, SPN moved from premises within Radboudumc to the Mercator II multi-tenant building on the Radboud University campus. The excellent location enables them to maintain close contact with Radboudumc’s prenatal diagnostics department – a department with which they collaborate extensively. At the same time, the move underlines SPN’s independent status.
There isn’t much contact yet with other companies at the Science Park or with other departments at Radboud University. ‘We are, however, indirectly involved in projects concerning the assessment of ultrasound scans using AI. Such research is also being carried out with other medical images; AI seems to be able to play a helpful role in assessing them more quickly and accurately. Expertise in this field is well represented here, so perhaps that will lead to further knowledge exchange.’
