LONDON, 12 Nov. - (ANA) - A handheld device could end invasive smear tests for 98 per cent of women.

 

Women are invited by the NHS for their first smear test at the age of 25 and then have one every three years, dropping to one every five years between 50 and 64.

 

But one in three miss their appointment due to concerns over the invasive procedure, which requires a speculum and swab to be inserted into the vagina, which can sometimes be painful.

 

Sanziana Foia, a PhD researcher at Imperial College London, has invented the reusable Papcup to replace the traditional pap smear after having a bad experience of her own.

 

The device scans menstrual blood which can be collected while a woman is on her period for signs of HPV.

 

Traditional smears collect cells from the cervix which are tested for HPV, only positive samples then go for further analysis for signs of possible cervical cancer.

 

However, only one in 40 women have a positive HPV result, according to the NHS, which means the smear test is merely a HPV test for 98.5 per cent of women.

 

“When the NHS performs a smear test, they collect the sample invasively, as in, using a speculum, it requires a vaginal insertion, and then they send that sample to a lab,” Ms Foia told The Telegraph.

 

“If HPV is in the sample, then they’re going to take it one step further and look at the cells in the sample, see if there’s any abnormal cells, but if there isn’t any HPV that could cause cancer, then they just discard the sample.

 

“So essentially, for most women, this is just a very invasive HPV test and this is the only option that they have.”

 

Ms Foia’s device hopes to replace this stage of smear tests which would remove the need for anything to enter the vagina in order to test for HPV and results would be given in minutes, and not several days or weeks.

 

Women who return a positive test for HPV would then go for a pap smear and the cells can undergo more detailed analysis.

 

The device, currently a prototype, uses a new cartridge for every test and contains a biosensor to detect signs of HPV in a similar way to the diabetes sensors which detect blood sugar levels through the skin.

 

“We are providing a solution that is non-invasive and looks at whether HPV is present without having to undergo the whole very uncomfortable, potentially traumatic for some women, procedure,” Ms Foia said.

 

“Instead of having to send menstrual blood to a lab where they perform an analysis, the device is actually analysing for HPV present right then and there and gives a result in a few minutes.”

 

 

 

 

The device received funding from Imperial to make a prototype and initial tests showed the technology worked well, with no false positives.

 

Ms Foia is now seeking more funding to be able to progress to clinical trials and to access menstrual blood samples of women to further test the device’s speed and accuracy.

 

“I would say an optimistic time frame would be about three years from now until the end of clinical trials,” she told The Telegraph.

 

“The way I envisage Papcup is that women would get it free through the NHS and the NHS would be one of our few customers.”

 

 

 

 

Cancer Research UK funded the accelerator programme at Imperial, which Ms Foia was a part of, which gave initial funding to academics to develop startup ideas.

 

Tony Hickson, Chief Business Officer at Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Horizons, said: “We know that one in three women do not attend their cervical screening due to various mental and physical barriers.

 

“We’re pleased to have helped support the development of Papcup, which offers a non-invasive alternative to conventional cervical screening methods. Innovations like these can hopefully help more people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/12 November 2024 - - -