Welcome to ISNS
Welcome to the website of the International Society for Neonatal Screening (ISNS).
This society is aiming to advance screening for neonatal and infant sicknesses and disorders, worldwide. Please read its vision and mission, respectively.
ISNS has around 500 members in more than 70 different countries. Most members have a professional (para)medical background but a few are involved in parents or patients advocacy groups.
For more information about ISNS visit the ISNS-Info section (see here).
ISNS welcomes new members who have demonstrated an active interest in neonatal screening.
News for Members
If you paid your membership dues and still do not receive the ISNS Newsletter please notify the ISNS Office.
If you change your email address please notify the ISNS Office.
Archived news items for members can be found at https://membership.isns-neoscreening.org under "files". You have to log in as a member first.
Corona - Covid19 statement
Several members have asked for guidance on handling DBS cards from infants from potentially infected mothers. There is evidence that in properly dried blood samples the virus does not survive (see https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(20)30003-3/fulltext). Of course, as always, the usual precautions on handling biological materials should be taken.
Hot topics for members
NBS for SMA
ISNS organises a virtual conference on NBS for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, 12-13 December, 2023.
Please go to the Events page for more information and for the preliminary programme.
Updated worldwide overview on NBS - Sept 2023
Please see here some slides based on info collected from various sources and (industrial) partners.
About
Two historic, very interesting, videos on PKU now available!
The Laboratory of Newborn Screening of Catalonia from Hospital Clínic of Barcelona (Spain), via Dr Ana Argudo-Ramírez, kindly made available to ISNS two historic videos.
The first one shows the original bacterial inhibition assay method for PKU, galactosemia etc. using the Phillips Punch Index Machine. This video was acquired and brought to Barcelona in 1968 by Prof. Juan Sabaté Tobella who was doing a training in the laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he learned the Guthrie method with Dr. Vivian Shi, director of the laboratory.
The second one concerns a TV show about PKU presented by Dr. Leonard Taitz, possibly made in the '80s.
If the videos will not open in your usual webbrowser please try another one.
Please see
https://aecom.com.es/fenilalanina-medir-metodo-dr-guthrie/
and
https://aecom.com.es/pku-progrrama-tv/
Hot topics for members
International Journal of Neonatal Screening (IJNS)
IJNS is the official journal of the International Society for Neonatal Screening (ISNS). IJNS is also the official journal of the German Society for Neonatal Screening (DGNS), the Japanese Society for Neonatal Screening (JSNS), the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)–Newborn Screening & Genetics Program and the UK Newborn Screening Laboratory Network (UKNSLN).
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/IJNS/about
In addition:
Open Access: free for readers, with article processing charges (APC)
paid by authors or their institutions.
High Visibility: indexed within Scopus, ESCI (Web of Science), PubMed,
PMC, Embase, and other databases.
Impact factor 3.5
Journal Rank: CiteScore 3.2 - Q2 (Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health)
Case reports: this journal publishes a section with well prepared case
reports.
Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision
provided to authors approximately 21.2 days after submission; acceptance
to publication is undertaken in 6.7 days (median values for papers
published in this journal in the first half of 2022).
Please consider IJNS for your next manuscript submission!!! ISNS members receive a 20% discount of the publication cost by indicating the ISNS membership in the cover letter.
IJNS received impact factor of 3.5
In June 2023 we celebrated with managing editors of International Journal of Neonatal Screening since November 2018 Neil (Xin) Ding and Patricia Csegesi and founding editor in chief Ralph Fingerhut receiving our first Impact Factor of...3.5!! A huge accomplishment of our managing editors at MDPI of the past and present, associate editors/editorial team, editorial board, reviewers, our readership and the membership of ISNS and affiliated organisations that have supported us, e.g. APHL - Association of Public Health Laboratories. Having our impact factor may remove a final hurdle for authors for which publishing in an IF-holding journal is mandated by their institutions. Additionally, the sheer level of 3.5 (!-Citation score 5.0) should be a stimulus to use IJNS as a platform for work within the scope of our journal, as it warrants selection of high quality manuscripts, a dedicated readership and recognition through citation.
Interesting article on a comparison of sampling devices
A paper has recently come out comparing devices for superior accuracy in heelprick and fingerprick blood testing versus the traditional dried bloodspot card. The devices would be for IEM disorder monitoring rather than newborn screening itself. PKU monitoring is evaluated in the paper.
Please see https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009898122012566.
Worldwide members
The location of members worldwide as of Jan. 1, 2022, is shown in the picture on the right. Countries/states with at least one member are shown in blue, others in grey.
How do I become a member?
Please read this and subsequently click on the button Member application.
Why should I join as a member?
As a member you are entitled to see the privileged pages containing specific news items, a monthly neonatal screening literature service and a discount to ISNS-related conferences. Under certain conditions you may apply for travel grants to such conferences. Having access to the on line membership directory you have easier access to other members sharing specific interests.
ISNS Journal
The ISNS supervises a journal, the International Journal of Neonatal Screening, published by MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
For information, please follow this link.
Members are stimulated to use this journal for their publications.
