Health & Medical

Insight: Home-Use Smear Test Kit

Maja Kecman

Insight is a home-use smear test system that will enable women to take a smear of the cervix in the privacy of their own home.

Insight was developed by Maja Kecman a graduate of the RCA's Industrial Design Engineering programme to address the problem of poor attendance at cervical screening appointments.

Cervical screening identifies cervical abnormalities which, if left untreated, may develop into cervical cancer. Since 1988, all women aged 20 to 64 in the UK have been invited for a pap smear test at least once every five years. The procedure comprises an intimate pelvic examination carried out by a nurse or doctor.

Department of Health statistics reveal that although cervical screening has been very effective in saving lives (Deaths from cervical cancer have fallen by 7 per cent annually since the introduction of screening in England in 1988), many women do not accept their invitations to attend regular cervical screening.

Insight allows women to take a smear of the cervix in the privacy of their own home, in their own time. It is a user-friendly, reliable and comfortable aid to cancer prevention, where the woman stays in complete control during the entire process. The Insight speculum has a unique mechanism that makes it easy to lock in the correct position, and leaves a clear visual pathway to the cervix.

An innovative lighting unit is embedded in the sampling brush and changes intensity when the optimum pressure on the cervix is reached in order to take a good sample. Consisting of only three moving parts, Insight has been designed for easy manufacture.

In a survey of 193 women of all ages. Maja found that 70 per cent of respondents said they would definitely consider using a self-test smear kit. Responses included "I get very nervous when the test is undertaken, so it is always more painful"; "This would be a fantastic product - it is a very undignified process for women to go through"; "I sincerely hope my 23 year old daughter has a more comfortable experience of smear tests than I have had to endure!"; "this is particularly appealing to me - arranging appointments for smear tests is difficult with young children to look after".

For further information contact Maja Kecman or InnovationRCA.