Device development
Challenge
For many women worldwide, cervical cancer screening is a time consuming and stressful event in that it requires a visit to a health centre and a gynaecological examination, i.e. taking a cervical smear. This approach also requires trained professionals and lab equipment, which are often unavailable in resource limited countries. A more accessible test based on self-sampling could increase cervical cancer screening in low-income or isolated populations, but also among women in general who for a variety of reasons do not visit health care provides for regular screenings.
Solution
The ELEVATE project will develop a portable, point-of-care HPV testing device that yields rapid, easy-to-understand results, for use without relying on electrical outlets or trained health personnel. The device will be capable of a completely automated detection of 14 HPV strains and 2 proteomic biomarkers, with the only end-user intervention being introduction of the vaginal self-samples swab, and the read-out providing quantitative information of each of the HPV strains and the proteins, with the aim of achieving the test results in 30-60 minutes.