Computerized scanning devices for Pap smear screening: current status and critical review. 
Automation of the Pap smear has taken almost half of a century.  Two systems have recently received FDA approval for routine use as quality control (rescreening) devices.  Technical triumphs are overshadowed by current conflicts among cytopathology professionals, clinicians, patients, and device manufacturers.  The historic perspective of this potentially volatile situation provides the backdrop for possible solutions based on the scientific validity of this evolving technology.