The Pocket Colposcope

Insertable imaging within speculum reduces glare, blur and shadows compared to external imaging devices.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) released resource-stratified guidelines recommending that HPV screening should be followed by triage with either colposcopy and biopsy (where available) or Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) to confirm the presence of lesions prior to treatment. Colposcopes are expensive and require referral to a facility, a trained provider, and a pathologist. VIA has high variability depending on provider experience, patient age, and size of lesion and has diminished sensitivity due to lack of magnification.

To address the prohibitive cost and limited availability of colposcopy, our team has created a low-cost, mobile colposcope, called the Pocket Colposcope. The Pocket Colposcope is inserted through a speculum to provide a magnified image of the cervix. Close up imaging of the cervix achieves excellent image quality reducing blur, glare and shadows compared to external imaging devices. Healthcare providers can optically zoom in and capture acetic acid, Lugol’s iodine and vascular images (green light imaging) by pressing a button with their thumb. Images taken with the Pocket Colposcope are transmitted instantly to a smartphone, or tablet.