Patent ID: 8827923

Claim:
A sampling device adapted for transcervical sampling of biological materials from a patient comprising: an outer tube having visible reference marks at a first end of the tube, the marks indicating intervals of distance along the first end of the tube; an elongate insertion member having a first end and a second end, the insertion member being received in and sized to be movable through the outer tube; a sampling portion disposed on the first end of the insertion member and configured to collect the biological materials by absorption or adsorption; a first stop disposed adjacent the reference marks on the outer tube, the position of the first stop being adjustable with respect to the reference marks on the outer tube; and a second stop arranged to limit the distance that the first end of the insertion member can extend past the first end of the outer tube; wherein the first stop is sized to pass through a vagina of the patient but to be restricted from passing through an external os of a cervix of the patient, and wherein the outer tube is sized to pass through the external os; and wherein the sampling portion comprises a sponge material comprising a multifilamentous array of sponge fingers.