Monklands Hospital has become the first in the UK to pilot new technology aiming to use advanced imaging and artificial intelligence to improve early diagnosis of cervical cancer.
Staff at the Airdrie hospital are using a digital cytology system which creates on-screen images of smear test samples which have tested positive for human papilloma virus (HPV) which allows more rapid reviewing and diagnosis of any abnormalities.
Prelimary results from its first nine months are described as “promising”, resulting in faster turnaround times for analysis of samples and increasing the team’s capacity by 25 per cent – with the company behind the technology saying it “has [the] potential to transform the cervical screening programme”.
