“I invented an alternative to inconvenient smear tests”

When Sânziana Foia went for her first smear test at the age of 25, she was surprised by how uncomfortable the whole experience was.

The graduate student thought there must be other and better ways to test women for cervical cancer symptoms.

Sânziana said: “I had my first smear test about three years ago and it was an extremely unpleasant experience. When I spoke to other women, I realized that it’s actually quite a shared unpleasant experience.

“Since I was already doing a PhD in bioengineering and developing biosensors, I thought maybe there was a way to do this that was non-invasive and women could be in control.

“This hadn’t been upgraded in decades, so it seemed like a good place to start.

She set to work, and the result is the new Papcup system, a small device that allows women to test themselves at home using a sample of menstrual blood.

The device looks for signs of cancer-causing strains of HPV in the same way a traditional smear would. But there is no need to visit the doctor or wait for the results.

Sânziana told BBC Scotland News: “It’s a small device, about the size of my fist. You add a sample of menstrual blood to it, which you take with a swab.

“There is a biosensor in the device, which is a detection unit. It reads how much HPV is in the sample and comes back with a reading in about 15 minutes.”

“The goal of this device is to provide a virtually instantaneous test, because everything else takes days or weeks to come back.”

Papcup has passed the feasibility stage and is now in prototype development. Once it is ready, it will undergo further refinement and clinical testing.

Sânziana said: “We have developed the mechanical structures, the electronics and we have a proof of concept for the biosensors.

“Now it’s about putting it all together and being able to demonstrate it on the table, raising investment so we can improve the biosensor, and then clinical trials so we can finally bring it to women as a product.”

Sânziana – originally from Romania – is doing her PhD at Imperial College London, where her idea was originally developed through the Advanced Hackspace mentoring system.

But now she is getting support from a program at the University of Edinburgh called the Venture Builder Incubator, which aims to help innovations progress from idea to reality.

Andrew Parfery is Program Manager for VBI.

“The gap we’re here to fill is to help researchers, PhD students and academics take their idea and innovation and turn it into a business and bring it to market to make a real impact,” he said.

“We’re here for people in UK universities, especially those with innovation in health and social care, so we’re now open to applications especially for those with technology-driven solutions.”

Absorption rates are lower in certain areas, meaning many will miss the chance to see cancer-causing strains of HPV. Early diagnosis can potentially save lives, according to Cancer Research Horizons, the charity’s commercial arm.

Cidgem Selli comes from CRH, which participated in the Sânziana project.

She said: “We know that one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.

“If we can detect cancer earlier with new health technologies and inventions that are brought from the lab to the bedside, then we will save many lives.”

Uptake of smear tests among younger women is also lower, but Sânziana hopes her device will change that.

“Once they turn 25 and have their first smear test, many of them put off appointments, put off appointments or skip them altogether, or live with anxiety for months leading up to it.

“But they can use the new test in their own private safe spaces – they don’t need to interact with a complete stranger in such a vulnerable position. It gives them back the power to test on their terms.”

The test can still be used by postmenopausal women and women who do not menstruate.

She said: “They can still test with the Papcup using a traditional swab. It still has some advantages because you take the swab yourself and the result is still immediate, so you don’t have to send it to a lab and wait anxiously.” weeks for the results to come back.”

A routine smear test looks for cancer-causing strains of HPV, and further investigations are carried out if they are found.

Papcup also looks for harmful strains of HPV.

Sânziana said: “If someone tests positive for HPV, they may want to go and get a full smear test for a full diagnosis, to look in depth at what’s going on. But our goal is to break the first barrier that women face. get their smear test.

“It’s very much about addressing this health care gap and the inequities that lead to women skipping their appointments. We hope to be able to offer women a much more convenient screening.”