We had expertise in developing advanced data collection devices but we needed additional high quality mathematical input on the analysis side. Dr Daniel McMichael says the collaboration was a good example of how mathematical skills closely integrated with a company's development process can be a key generator of success in high technology projects. Polartechnics needed TruScan to be significantly better than its competition. We showed how to optimise its performance relative to PAP, and provided the mathematics and programs for doing it. Each year 300 women in Australia and hundreds of thousands of women around the world die from cervical cancer.
Early detection is the key to prevention.
PAP smears have been used for half a century to detect changes in the cells of the cervix - an early sign of cervical cancer. The TruScan system is expected to save millions of dollars in pathology costs, since it eliminates the need to take scrapings from the cervix for assessment by pathologists. Mr Skladnev says that clinical testing of TruScan has shown it to be at least 20 per cent more accurate than the PAP smear. The benefits for women are a less invasive test and a quicker result. This eliminates the stress of waiting for results and means that, when necessary, treatment can begin immediately.