University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie said it has become the first hospital in the UK and one of the first in the world to pilot the technology as part of its cervical screening programme.
According to health experts, the new technology could help to ensure earlier detection of pre-cancerous cells and cancer cells and has the potential to save lives.
The pilot is using a digital cytology system, the Genius Digital Diagnostics System, from women’s health company Hologic. This will create digital images of cervical smear slides from samples that have tested positive for human papilloma virus (HPV).
Screeners can rapidly review these images of test slides using an advanced algorithm, which assesses the cervical cells in the sample and provides the screener with an image gallery of the most diagnostically relevant cells. This helps medical experts more rapidly identify and accurately diagnose abnormalities, as they have fewer cells to analyse.
Allan Wilson...