Improving on the conventional "pap smear"

Originally known as the "pap smear", the procedure involved collecting cells from the cervix and smearing them onto a glass slide.

With the ThinPrep Pap Test, the test sample is rinsed into a vial of liquid and is then sent to a laboratory. A representative sample is put on a slide, and the slide is stained with a special dye that makes the cells easier to see. Liquid-based pap tests are far more accurate than conventional pap smears, and are used in approximately 90% of pap tests given in the U.S. today.

Example of a ThinPrep Pap Test slide

Taking pap testing to the next level

In 2003, the FDA approved the ThinPrep Imaging System for use with the ThinPrep Pap Test for the detection of cancerous and precancerous cervical cells. The combination of the ThinPrep Pap Test and the ThinPrep Imaging System significantly improves detection of abnormal cells.

Before the ThinPrep Imaging System, all pap tests relied solely on laboratory professionals who would review the cells under a microscope. Today, it is possible for the ThinPrep Imager to scan each slide, highlighting areas of interest that contain cells with large and dark nuclei — those cells which may be abnormal — thereby helping the laboratory professional to focus their review on the areas that need it most.

This means that each ThinPrep Pap Test is screened twice — one full scan from a computer, and then a review by a laboratory professional trained in finding abnormal cervical cells. Currently, the ThinPrep Imaging System is the only FDA-approved system that allows for individual slide analysis of this kind.

Next: more about the ThinPrep Imaging System