Home Cervical Smear Test

99.7%的宫颈癌是由人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）引起的。宫颈癌前病变可能在HPV感染后大约10年才发生。1988年，英国国民保健署（NHS）设立了子宫颈普查计划，估计自该计划实施以来，每年可挽救多达5000人的生命。尽管有良好的记录，但英国约有四分之一的妇女没有接受筛查。平均每天有2名妇女死亡，每年约有850人死亡。根据英国癌症研究所的数据，这些死亡中有很大一部分来自非白人少数民族。据世界卫生组织估计，2018年全球有57万名妇女被诊断患有宫颈癌，其中约31.1万人不必要地死于这种疾病。研究概述了妇女在接受宫颈涂片检查时面临的障碍。这些包括尴尬，害怕疼痛和焦虑。可能导致疼痛的因素包括解剖尺寸小、子宫后倾、阴道痉挛、未经产、绝经（阴道萎缩）、女性生殖器切割（FGM）和先前的性侵犯。“我在做子宫颈抹片检查时经历过疼痛。我有如此可怕的痛苦的原因是错误的窥器大小（使用的是一个有几个孩子的女人）。我从来没有孩子。我对这段经历感到羞愧和尴尬...就好像我是痛苦和不适的罪魁祸首。“尽管这些障碍被确定，执行这项测试的方法在过去的143年里没有改变;自1878年以来，托马斯格雷夫斯修改了爱德华加布里埃尔库斯科的窥器，包括两个弯曲的金属刀片。“我的医生驳回了我的痛苦，并通过性侵犯，巴氏涂片从来没有只是不舒服，他们是精神创伤。“LBN创新有限公司正在听取妇女的意见，并开发一种新的，紧凑的医疗设备，以取代窥器。通过开发新的涂片测试方法，我们希望鼓励更多人参与筛查计划，从而挽救生命。

99.7% of cervical cancer is caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Pre-malignant changes to the uterine cervix can take approximately 10 years following HPV infection to develop. This means that if the pre-cancerous mutations are caught early, then cervical cancer may be prevented.In 1988, the NHS Cervical Screening Programme was established and is estimated to have saved up to 5000 lives a year since its inception. Despite its proven track record, approximately 1 in 4 women in the UK fail to be screened. 2 women a day die, on average, with approximately 850 deaths a year. The greater percentage of these deaths according to Cancer Research UK is from non-white minority ethnic groups. The World Health Organization estimated in 2018 that 570000 women worldwide were diagnosed with cervical cancer, with approximately 311000 dying unnecessarily from this disease.Research outlines the barriers women face undergoing a cervical smear test. These include embarrassment, fear of pain and anxiety. Factors that can contribute towards pain are small anatomical size, a retroverted uterus, vaginismus, nulliparous, menopause (vaginal atrophy), female genital mutilation (FGM) and prior sexual assault."I have experienced pain when having a pap smear done. The reason I had such terrible pain was the wrong speculum size (the one that was used was for a woman who had had several children). I've never had children. I was shamed and embarrassed by the experience...It was almost like I was to blame for the pain and discomfort."Despite these barriers being identified, the methodology for performing this test has not changed for the last 143 years; not since 1878, when Thomas Graves revised Edward Gabriel Cusco's speculum to include two curved metal blades."My doctor dismissed my pain and having been through sexual assault, pap smears were never just uncomfortable, they were mentally traumatic."LBN Innovations Ltd is listening to women and developing a new, compact medical device to replace the speculum. By developing a new smear test methodology, we hope to encourage more participation in screening programmes and so save lives.