Challenge

Cervical cancer is among the leading causes of women mortality in Mexico. If it is early detected, many lives can be saved. Unfortunately, women in marginalized communities need to travel very long distances to go to a clinic for sample screening, they commonly associate a visit to the doctor with pain and stress, and if medical assistance goes to them, a cultural barrier (discomfort, fear, shame, etc.) prevents the professionals to make a proper examination. The result is a very high mortality index in these locations due to this disease.

Solution

Considering the geographic location and the cultural barrier presented in these communities, Bioana developed a solution by designing a low-cost, easy-to-use, and effective self-pap device for women to collect their samples by themselves in the comfort of their own home. Doctors bring these devices to women, during prevention campaigns, and then take the samples back to the laboratory for analysis. This geometry has the integration of ergonomics and comfort for the patient with a simple mechanism for the easy collection of cells. The device is accompanied with a clear instructive and its usage is very simple letting out the possibility of errors.

Results

The design of the device integrates ergonomics, intuitive use, sample protection against contamination, and complete integration with current HPV and Cytology screening techniques. It also was designed to provide the optimal solution to reduce costs during manufacturing, making it very accessible to women. Patent pending MX/a/2015/000698.

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