Indigenous device that can detect early cervical cancer launched

• The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has launched an indigenous device that can detect early cervical cancer and be used even by healthcare workers with basic training.
• AV Magnivisualizer, which was developed by the Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has 95% accuracy for detecting pre-cancerous lesions. Randomised clinical control trials have confirmed its efficacy in reducing incidence and mortality. It would also be available in remote rural areas.
• This is a user-friendly device which costs about Rs 10,000 as against the present devices which cost between Rs 8 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh and are beyond the reach of most people.
• The device can be operated on a 12- volt battery in rural and semi-urban areas where electric supply is not regular.
• Now, the ICMR is initiating studies to assess its applicability even for oral pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions.
• In the initial phase, the device would be available in the Community Health Centres (CHC); in the next phase it would be made available in the Primary Health Centres (PHC), where cervical cancer cases go undetected.
• Cervical cancer is the most common malignancy among Indian women, particularly those who marry early. Current estimates indicate that approximately 1.32 lakh new cases are diagnosed and 74,000 deaths occur annually in India, accounting for nearly one-third of global cervical cancer deaths.
• Cervical cancer takes about a decade to fully develop and is often detected when it has spread substantially. It starts from a pre-cancer stage called dysplasias and early detection and appropriate treatment at this stage can halt its progression, resulting in decreased incidence or mortality.

More about Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR):

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.
• The Council’s research priorities coincide with the National health priorities such as control and management of communicable diseases, fertility control, maternal and child health, control of nutritional disorders, developing alternative strategies for health care delivery, containment within safety limits of environmental and occupational health problems; research on major non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, blindness, diabetes and other metabolic and haematological disorders; mental health research and drug research (including traditional remedies). All these efforts are undertaken with a view to reduce the total burden of disease and to promote health and well-being of the population.