cervical cancer Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

How Hologic tapped AI and volumetric imaging for cervical cytology — and potential applications beyond

Hologic designed its Genius cytology technology for more efficient and accurate review of cervix cell samples — and there’s more to come.

Hologic says its Genius cytology technology reduces false negatives of high-grade squamous intraepithelial and more severe lesions by 28% compared to microscopic review. [Photo courtesy of Hologic]

Hologic‘s Genius cytology system uses new scanning technology and artificial intelligence to flag cervical cancer cells and pre-cancerous lesions.

Hologic won a de novo classification in January 2024 for its Genius Digital Diagnostics System and Genius Cervical AI algorithm for cervical cytology. Besides replacing Hologic’s ThinPrep Imaging System — used for the majority of cervical cancer screenings in the U.S. — the technology behind the Genius system could one day also help screen for other kinds of cancer like bladder cancer as well as infectious organisms, Ho…

Hologic and Google Cloud team up on digital diagnostics for cervical cancer

Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) has entered into a multi-year deal to use Google Cloud’s machine learning and deep learning technologies with its Genius digital diagnostics system, a cytology platform that uses volumetric imaging data to identify precancerous lesions and cancer cells of the cervix.

The machine learning and deep learning capabilities from Google Cloud will enable Hologic to build on its more than three decades of experience in cervical cancer screening, according to Kevin Thornal, president of Hologic’s Diagnostic Solutions division. “Enhancing our use of AI with Google Cloud’s machine learning capabilities and cloud architecture is the next natural step in this journey forward,” he said in a statement.

Genius Digital Diagnostics is CE-marked for use in Europe. It is not yet available in the U.S.

The FDA is currently overhauling how it regulates machine learning-based software for medical device applications.

In related news, Hologic recently …

Hologic blasts American Cancer Society over new Pap test guidelines

Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) — a major company in the Pap and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing space — is criticizing the American Cancer Society over new cervical cancer screening recommendations that prefer simply doing HPV tests every five years.

“Although all the screening tests are good at finding cancer and pre-cancer, primary HPV testing is better at finding them than a Pap test done alone. Plus, primary HPV testing does not lead to more follow-up tests for abnormal areas that turn out to not to be pre-cancer,” Sandy McDowell, senior editor of research at ACS, explained in a July 30 blog post.

“In the US, the expectation is that over time fewer people will have a co-test or Pap test alone as the primary HPV test become more widely available.”

Hologic in a July 31 statement said it was “disappointed” by the new guidelines — noting that the cervical cancer rate has fallen by more than 70% since the Pap test was introduce…