The pulse wash instrument. A new sampling method for uterine cervical cancer detection

A new sampling method for uterine cervical cancer detection is described. In this method, sampling of cytologic material is done by using a pulse wash instrument. Liquid jets with a diameter of 0.2 mm at a speed of 20 m/s create a successful rinsing effect of cervical epithelial cells due to the high kinetic energy produced. Because cells are suspended in the flushing liquid it is possible to collect material for additional cytochemical, immunocytochemical, and microbiologic diagnostic techniques in addition to a conventional smear technique. Compared to a conventional Papanicolaou smear technique performed in 75 women at two cervical atypia clinics at the Karolinska Hospital, the pulse wash technique is suggested to result in a more representative cellular sample, thus offering a method to decrease false negative diagnoses in uterine cervical cancer detection.