India today launched its first indigenously developed device for screening and early detection of cervical cancer, which kills over 74,000 women in the country every year.
Launching the low-cost "AV-Magnivisualiser" device developed by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said it will help in early detection of cervical cancer among adolescent girls and women, thus helping in save many lives.
Designed and developed at Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology (ICPO), Noida, working under ICMR, the device will cost about Rs 10,000 and is much lower as compared to the cervical cytology method used at present in medical colleges, the equipment of which costs over Rs eight lakh.
"I am extremely happy and I congratulate the scientists involved in the cutting-edge level. I hope the cost-effective device will be available in the market in the next eight months to help ensure easy screening and early detection of cervical cancer," Azad said.
The Minister said with this device it will be easy to screen and detect cervical cancer in its early stages, thus making treatment more effective.
"We will also ensure proper training of nurses and manpower for using the device in the coming months," he said, adding that screening for cervical cancer is available only in regional cancer institutes and medical colleges at present.
He said the equipment presently being used is expensive, as a result of which not many medical colleges can afford it.
This device, far more cost effective, will be first rolled out in the district and sub-district community health centres (CMCs) and subsequently in the primary health centres (PHCs), he noted.
Since all PHCs do not have lady doctors and nurses, staffing and training will form an important part of the roll out plan, he said.
Cervical cancer, which involves the opening of uterus in a woman's vagina, is a leading cause of cancer deaths among women in most parts of developing world.
In India, cervical cancer is the commonest malignancy among women. The current estimates indicate that approximately 1.32 lakh new cases of such cancer are diagnosed and about 74,000 deaths occur annually, accounting for nearly one-third of global cervical cancer deaths.
