Published: August 28, 2007 06:54 pm         

MedLab offering advanced cervical cancer screening technology

MedLAB, Inc. has announced the addition of the ThinPrep Imaging System to its cervical cancer screening capabilities.

The ThinPrep Imaging System, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is the first fully-integrated, interactive computer system that assists cytotechnologists and pathologists in the primary screening of ThinPrep Pap Test slides, according to a news release.

The ThinPrep Imaging System combines revolutionary imaging technology with human interpretive expertise to provide improved cervical cancer screening efficiency and performance over manual screening only.

MedLAB has been offering the ThinPrep Pap Test and using the ThinPrep Processor since 1998 and will now use ThinPrep Imaging System for all cervical cancer screenings.

“MedLAB is committed to providing our patients with the best available technology to detect disease early and the addition of the ThinPrep Imaging System enables us to do that,” said Bashar Kashlan, medical director of MedLAB.

“The ThinPrep Imaging System will offer significant improvements over previous manual screening methods,” he said.

According to American Cancer Society estimates, nearly 10,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2006; about 3,700 will die of the disease. Cervical cancer is almost 100 percent curable if detected early.

More than 30 published studies with more than 500,000 patients have demonstrated the improved performance of the ThinPrep Pap Test compared to the conventional Pap smear. A meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology concluded that the ThinPrep Pap Test improves the diagnosis of pre-cancerous changes in cervical cells (low-grade and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions), compared to the conventional Pap smear. This comprehensive study also demonstrated improved sample adequacy with the ThinPrep method resulting in a reduced number of repeat tests.