Medway NHS Foundation Trust adopts cervical cancer diagnostic tool

Medway NHS Foundation Trust will be adopting a new diagnostic tool for use within its colposcopy services to help improve the diagnosis of cervical cancer and pre-cancer.

The ZedScan diagnostic tool will be used at Medway Maritime Hospital and will help clinicians at the trust to make informed clinical management decisions with confidence and for patients to receive accurate diagnoses.

ZedScan uses technology which is able to detect cervical abnormalities early, so they can be identified before they develop into cervical cancer.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust carried out a service evaluation of over 200 patients and found that Zilico’s increased the detection of high-grade disease – which have the potential to become cancerous – by 26%.

Lead clinician for Medway Maritime Hospital’s colposcopy unit, Sharon Griffin, said: “Within colposcopy, it is essential that we are able to confidently diagnose cervical abnormalities and make the best decision for patients at their first visit. The introduction of ZedScan to our services helps us to do this, and get fuller and more accurate diagnosis for our patients.

“Zedscan also gives us the ability to confidently rule out disease in many cases, and removes the need for a diagnostic biopsy and unnecessary follow-up appointments. This gives our patients peace of mind and helps us to see more patients more quickly by releasing appointment capacity for other patients.”

If no high grade disease is detected, the ZedScan’s high sensitivity will give clinicians the confidence to discharge women to surveillance or routine screening.

Amanda Caley, clinical specialist at Zilico, said; “We’ve found that two things are happening with colposcopy; clinicians themselves are using ZedScan, on the back of strong evidence to provide a more accurate assessment of the cervix which happens in real-time and therefore enabling better communication, comfort and reassurance for the patient.

“The second thing that is happening is that people who come in for colposcopy are starting to request ZedScan because knowledge is growing about the technology and its ability to give in-depth analysis at the point of care. It means that advanced technology is having a huge benefit for both practitioners and patients.”

Medway NHS Foundation Trust has also recently deployed its new EPR with Allscripts, a project which was completed in less than five months.