RYE, NY, July 17, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- The Institute for Advanced Medical Education (IAME) announces the launch of training for nuchal translucency (NT) testing, a valuable new tool that allows healthcare providers to screen for chromosomal abnormalities in the first trimester. IAME's training program will be offered in conjunction with the Nuchal Translucency Quality Review (NTQR), an outgrowth of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine. "This training will equip healthcare providers with much needed tools for better risk assessment in the first trimester. This will, in turn, lead to more effective counseling and better patient outcomes," said Alfred Z. Abuhamad, MD, Chairman of OB-GYN at Eastern Virginia Medical School and member of the NTQR Oversight Committee.

IAME's decision to link NT training courses to all of its regular OB-GYN ultrasound conferences follows a successful pilot program at its annual Fetal and Women's Ultrasound conference, held this past April in Atlanta . "A major deciding factor in launching the program was the strong interest we saw in Atlanta where over 120 physicians and sonographers enrolled," said Irwin Kuperberg, IAME president. The next NT training course will be offered on October 28 th in Las Vegas at the seventh annual Obstetric Ultrasound in the High Risk Patient conference.

Nuchal translucency testing is a relatively new screening tool used to determine if a baby is at increased risk for having a chromosomal abnormality such as Down syndrome. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine one in five women will have her first child after the age of 35. While the incidence of Down syndrome is 1-in-1,250 for a woman 25 years old the risk increases dramatically with age, as illustrated in the following table:

* Age 35, 1-in-400 births
* Age 40, 1-in-100 births
* Age 45, 1-in-30 births
* Age 49, 1-in-10 births

Expectant mothers at higher risks for chromosomal abnormalities are given the NT test between 11 and 14 weeks of their pregnancies. NT testing is non-invasive and, when performed together with an associated blood test, is 85% accurate.

About IAME

The Institute for Advanced Medical Education was established in 1992 and provides continuing medical education to physicians, nurses and allied health professionals in the form of live events, multimedia and print programs. IAME offers innovative programs in neurology, gastroenterology, women's health and cardiovascular medicine and is the nation's leading provider of CME in diagnostic imaging. IAME is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

About NTQR

The Nuchal Translucency Quality Review, based in Washington , DC , is an outgrowth of efforts begun in late 2002 by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM). NTQR's mission is to improve the quality of Maternal-Fetal-Medicine clinical services by providing state of the art evidence-based educational programs and statistically valid monitoring systems to evaluate current practices and facilitate the transition of an emerging technology into clinical care.

Media contact: Lisa McDonnell, IAME, 914-921-5700, lmcdonnell@iame.com