Automated Cervical Cancer Screening Technology Identifies "All Clear" Samples

With over 3.6 million tests being undertaken across England and Wales during 2009/10, this represents a significant reduction in laboratory workload, eliminating the need to employ costly, temporary locum staff.

Source BioScience (Nottingham, United Kingdom), an international diagnostics and genetic analysis business, announced that the National Health Service Cancer Screening Programs (NHSCSP; Sheffield, United Kingdom) approved the use of the BD FocalPoint “No Further Review” technology for cervical cancer screening in the UK.

NHSCSP, the governing body for cancer screening in the UK, informed NHS laboratories of the decision to approve BD FocalPoint “No Further Review” following recommendations from the Health Technology Assessment “MAVARIC” trial, which was published in March 2011. The FocalPoint Slide Profiler is an automated cervical cytology screening system that is approved for primary screening. The trial demonstrated the clinical performance of the system compared with manual screening and its compatibility with the planned introduction of HPV testing into the UK cervical cancer-screening program during September 2011

Dr Nick Ash, chief executive of Source BioScience commented, "We believe Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD; Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) FocalPoint is a huge step forward for cervical cancer screening progression in the UK. “No Further Review” is a unique function of the BD FocalPoint system and it is the only automated system of its kind approved and available in the UK."

Related Links:
Source BioScience
National Health Service Cancer Screening Program
Becton, Dickinson and Company