CERVIS: Cervical Cancer Early Response Visual Identification System

The goal of CERVIS is to make a substantial, positive impact in the cervical cancer screening space through the development of a minimally invasive, cost effective solution that enables women in low-resource settings to test for cervical cancer on a frugal and effective platform. In the developed world, there are a variety of options that can aid in early detection, including Pap smears. However, due to the high cost and laboratory requirements that accompany this procedure, women in low-resource settings rarely have access to this preventative care or regular screenings for cervical cancer. Using new research about the changes in the vaginal microbiome, CERVIS aims to create a frugal, visual diagnostic screening tool for early stage cervical cancer as an alternative to the existing expensive, invasive, and clinic-dependent methods. Outcomes will be measured by partnering with a Kenyan NGO to collect data from several clinics

The Development of CERVIS: Cervical cancer Early Response Visual Identification System

The goal of CERVIS is to make a substantial, positive impact in the cervical cancer diagnostic space through the development of a minimally invasive, cost effective solution that enables women in low-resource settings to test for cervical cancer on a frugal and effective platform. In the developed world, there are a variety of options that can aid in early detection, including pap smears. However, due to the high cost and laboratory requirements that accompany this procedure, women in low-resource settings rarely have access to this preventative care or regular screenings for cervical cancer. Using new research about the changes in the vaginal microbiome, we aim to create a frugal, visual diagnostic screening tool for early stage cervical cancer as an alternative to the existing expensive, invasive, and clinic-dependent methods. Outcomes will be measured by partnering with a Kenyan NGO to collect data from several clinics

An adjusted and time-saving method to measure collateral ventilation with Chartis

INTRODUCTION: Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction with endobronchial valves is an important treatment option in selected patients with severe emphysema and absence of collateral ventilation in the treatment target lobe. The Chartis system provides an important physiological assessment of the presence or absence of collateral ventilation. We aimed to evaluate a new feature and determine whether low flow during a Chartis measurement is predictive for the absence of collateral ventilation, and whether this allows for a procedure to be shortened by earlier terminating the Chartis measurement. This is measured with the “volume trend for the previous 20 s” (VT20). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 249 Chartis assessments of patients scheduled for bronchoscopic lung volume reduction procedures. The VT20 was calculated, and several thresholds were compared between patients with collateral ventilation (CV positive) and without collateral ventilation (CV negative). RESULTS: 100% of the CV negative patients reached a threshold of VT20 ≤6 mL, whereas all CV positive patients reached a VT20 ≥7 mL. The median “time saved” between VT20=6 mL and end of assessment was 60 s (range 5–354 s). CONCLUSION: The threshold of VT20 ≤6 mL is a reliable method to exclude the presence of collateral ventilation when air flow rates are low and can therefore reduce bronchoscopic lung volume procedure times