How a new Australian device could make Pap smears easier
A new device developed by an Australian medical company looks set to change the way women view Pap smears by alleviating discomfort and increasing relaxation during the procedure.
The Veda-Scope, developed by Sydney based company SSH Medical, is good news for the 3 million Australian women who have Pap smears every year. The company hopes that the Veda-Scope will encourage women who have not previously had a Pap smear to do so.
The Veda-Scope works by using a filtered airflow to expand and access the vaginal area, enabling your doctor to view and access your cervix for Pap smears or other gynaecological examinations with the benefit of light and magnification. The company has also developed the Veda Speculum, a disposable speculum which can be attached to the Veda-Scope. Because the Veda Speculum is disposable, there is no need for sterilisation.
Doctors traditionally use the ‘duckbill’ speculum, an instrument that may be plastic or metal that holds the vagina open during a Pap smear.
A study involving the new device was conducted at the Sydney Centre for Reproductive Health Research. The researchers, led by Dr Anna Thomas, found that 94 per cent of women tested found the Veda-Scope more comfortable than the conventional duckbill speculum.
Women who would prefer to use the Veda-Scope for their Pap smear may have to pay a small fee to their GP.
When do I need to have a Pap smear?
The Australian Medical Association recommends that all women who have ever been sexually active should start having Pap smears between the ages of 18 to 20, or one to 2 years after they first had sexual intercourse.
Pap smear registers now operate around Australia through the National Cervical Screening Programme, and if you are on the register, they will send you a reminder when your next Pap smear is due. You will automatically be placed on the register when you have a Pap smear, unless you request otherwise.
What does a Pap smear involve?
A Pap smear—named after Dr George Papanicolaou who discovered in 1928 that cells in the cervix change in appearance before they become cancerous—is a procedure to detect such pre-cancerous changes in cervical cells. Usually, a speculum is used to hold open the vaginal walls so that the cervix can be viewed and cells can be collected from the cervix (also called the neck of the womb) with a scraper or brush. The cells are then sent to a laboratory for testing.
Pap smears and cervical cancer
- Cervical cancer is the eighth most common cancer in Australian women.
- A regular Pap smear can help prevent up to 90 per cent of the most common type of cervical cancer.
- Your risk of getting cervical cancer increases with age.
- Pap smears do not detect sexually transmitted diseases.
- An abnormal result from your Pap smear does not necessarily mean you have cancer. One in 10 Pap smears shows up a problem and most aren’t serious.
Contact the Australian National Cervical Screening Programme 13 15 56 for more information on Pap smears and cervical cancer.
Last Reviewed: 30 March 2001
