A pocket-sized gadget to screen cervical cancer

NEW DELHI: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has completed the trials for a pocket colposcope — small-sized device to examine the cervix of women to screen them for diseases like cervical cancer. Unlike the existing machines, which are bigger in size and expensive, the new device developed by scientists from Duke University, UK can fit into a pocket and is expected to cost a few thousands.

“We have used it to screen the patients at our hospitals. The results are positive,” Dr Neerja Bhatla, professor of gynaecology at AIIMS said. She did not give out details about the number of patients screened using the device because the research work is yet to be published.

The device has been developed by Nimmi Ramanujam, a professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, UK and his team at Duke University. According to the university website, Ramanujam and her team have been developing and testing it since 2012 to increase access to cervical cancer screening in primary care settings. “The device, that weighs less than two pounds, enables healthcare providers to zoom and capture images by pressing a button with their thumb. Images taken with it are transmitted instantly to a smartphone, tablet or laptop,” researchers say.

Dr Bhatla said the device is important for cervical cancer screening, particularly in low income countries like India where there is scarcity of traditional colposcopes that cost up to Rs 8 lakh and technical expertise needed to use them. “The pocket colposcopes can be used by health workers as well. They can send the findings to the gynaecologists for further understanding and decision making,” the AIIMS professor said.

India accounts for one-quarter of the worldwide burden of cervical cancers, according to experts. It is the one of the leading cause of cancer mortality, accounting for 17% of all cancer deaths among women aged between 30 and 69 years.

According to a research paper published recently in the Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology it is estimated that cervical cancer will occur in approximately 1 in 53 Indian women during their lifetime compared with 1 in 100 women in more developed regions of the world. “Screening for cancer is known to reduce mortality by early detection and treatment. However, there are two prerequisites for screening to reduce the rate of death from cancer. First, screening must advance the time of diagnosis of cancers that are destined to cause death. Second, early treatment of these cancers must confer some advantage over treatment at clinical presentation,” the research says.