Special issue of Nanobiomedicine, edited by Barbara Smith of ASU, Meeting the Needs of Health Care across the Globe

saltPAD: A New Analytical Tool for Monitoring Salt Iodization in Low Resource Settings

Nicholas M. Myers, Emmerentia Elza Strydom, James Sweet, Christopher Sweet, Rebecca Spohrer, Muhammad Ali Dhansay and Marya Lieberman 

Abstract:  We created a paper test card that measures a common iodizing agent, iodate, in salt. To test the analytical metrics, usability, and robustness of the paper test card when it is used in low resource settings, the South African Medical Research Council and GroundWork performed independent validation studies of the device. The accuracy and precision metrics from both studies were comparable. In the SAMRC study, more than 90% of the test results (n=1704) were correctly classified as corresponding to adequately or inadequately iodized salt. The cards are suitable for market and household surveys to determine whether salt is adequately iodized. Further development of the cards will improve their utility for monitoring salt iodization during production.

http://www.intechopen.com/journals/articles/nanobiomedicine (open source)