A prescreening device for cancer of the uterus

A prescreening device for cancer of the uterus was based on the slower sedimentation rate of cells from a vaginal aspirate in the presence of cancer than in its absence. The apparatus recorded the increase in light transmission through the test tube as the cells fell. This mechanical examination of the rate of fall of vaginal and cervical cells did not diagnose cancer, but it identified the normal specimens free of cancer or infections. The negative specimens comprised the bulk of diagnostic material. There was a small increase in false-negative rate compared with the false-negative rate in standard cytologic tests, but this was counterbalanced by the increase in the number of specimens examined.