How Colposcopy will change the Management of Cervical Health in India
India is plagued by the highest incidence of deaths caused by cervical cancer. The obstacles to cervical cancer screening efforts range from lack of access to quality health care to socio-cultural challenges to financial limitations. But the biggest obstacle is the Indian woman’s reluctance to seek preventive care. Indian women almost always seek medical care only during gynaecological emergencies related toissues like pregnancy, unwanted pregnancy, infertility, unexplained bleeding or painful periods. It is here that the gynaecologists can encourage women who seek emergency gynaecological care to receive routine well women screening and effectively manage cervical health.
Eva from Genworks is at the core of the complete well Woman Routine
Colposcopy was introduced in 1925, much before significant technological advances in modern gynaecology. It has progressed from a bulky immobile instrument mostly restricted to specialists exclusively dedicated to cervical pathology for diagnosis and treatment of cervical lesions to an AI powered complete women health care solution such as EVA from Genworks. Today, colposcopy using the EVA system provides doctors with an effective tool to manage cervical health by integrating it into a standard gynaecological consultation that includes preventive diagnostic screening.
What is Colposcopy?
Colposcopy (a large microscope) evaluation is used for visual assessment and to conduct a biopsy as a secondary intervention modality. It has remained on the fringes of gynaecological practice owing to the fact that it was expensive and hard to use.
Basically, Pap smear and/or HPA tests were the primary screening options used to screen cervical cancer and until recently, colposcopy came into play only when these tests presented abnormal or inconclusive results.
Traditional colposcopy
Traditional colposcopes are expensive, difficult to transport, and unwieldy to manipulate, limitingtheir use in developing countries like India where its need is felt the most. Colposcopy is also associated with significant anxiety as it pertains to the presence of precancerous lesions. Diagnostic tools that decrease the time taken to evaluate the cervix help reduce the anxiety associated with the procedure. EVA fromGenworks, the digital colposcope overcomes the shortcomings of the traditional colposcope.
Portable EVA presents high quality visualization
The portable EVA system of Genworks is small enough to fit into one arm.It is easy to set up and presents high quality visualization of the vagina, vulva and the cervix with minimum discomfort to the patients. Visualization of the diagnostic and treatment procedures is a practical challenge that gynaecologists face during examination routines. EVA provides an easy solution with its 16x magnification and a built-in light source that enables high quality images of treatment zones under study. The video feature enables the gynaecologist to view the vagina and the various parts of the lower genital tract in its entirety. It also enables comparison of before and after digital images of the cervix and comparison of a cervical image with archived images for better diagnosis. This complete visual inspection serves as a comprehensive guide for effective treatment for women health-related medical issues including diagnosis of cervical cancer.
EVA Colposcopy- guided biopsies
Women with abnormal or inconclusive pap and HPV tests may undergo colposcopy- guided biopsies when a piece of tissue from the abnormal lesion sites on the cervix is removed and tested. An important feature of Genworks EVA is that the real-time streaming of digital images with enhanced clarity aid determination of biopsy site(s) with greater accuracy in these women. EVA system with its advanced software, optimizes accuracy of colposcopy evaluation of abnormal lesion sites and of biopsy specimens which are crucial to timely decisions in the detection, management and treatment of cervical cancer.
AI backed visual assessment with EVA the way ahead
The colposcopic impression is usually confirmed by biopsies. However, removal of the tissue from the cervix is often stressful and painful for the patient, the possibility of ‘optical biopsy’ with EVA backed by AI may be the way ahead.Automated visual evaluation (AVE) is a machine-learning based algorithm that assesses digital images of the cervix for signs of cancer or precancer. EVA backed with AI helps evaluate a single image of the cervix for either an AVE positive result indicating the presence of problematic lesions indicative of cancer or AVE negative, indicating a cervix that is not at increased risk for cancer. In a study of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), automated visual evaluation, was able to detect signs of cancer or precancer with over 90% accuracy, a significantly higher rate of accuracy than the current Pap cytology test that is the gold standard in cervical cancer screening.
EVA system is the way ahead for a clinically viable AI-based cervical cancer screening by gynaecologists. With its largest bank of cervical images in the world and a versatile affordable system of image capture EVA provides accurate identification of patients for further treatment with minimal invasive diagnostic procedures.
Note making and documentation made easy with EVA
The EVA System mobile colposcope provides easy note-taking where patient information can be directly added into the user’s interface on the EVA colposcope and annotations and biopsy location sites can be added directly onto the images captured. EVA allows gynaecologiststo sync images, annotations and case notes directly from the EVA device to their electronic medical record system saving a lot of clinician and patient time.
A complete gynaecological routine with EVA
The EVA colposcopewill find multiple uses, once the gynaecologist begins to integrate it into the daily examination routine. It can be used to diagnose and further assess vaginal and vulvar cancer and other problems such as genital warts on the cervix, cervicitis (an inflamed cervix), benign (noncancerous) growths, such as polyps, pain and unexplained bleeding.
EVA System - A scalable and cost-effective solution
In a gynaecological practice, EVA portable colposcopy with its fast and accurate testing ability is an effective, easy and affordable screening, diagnostic and intervention tool that could help save the lives of millions of women with timely intervention.EVA system is definitely a scalable and cost-effective solution that shall empower women and gynaecologists in effective management of cervical health.