We report on an illuminated, low-cost (Rs 1500 (US$ 36)) magnifying device
(Magnivisualizer) for detecting precancerous lesions of the uterine cervix.
A total of 403 women attending a maternal and child health care clinic who
had abnormal vaginal discharge and related symptoms were referred for deta
iled pelvic examination and visual inspection by means of the device after
the application of 5 % (v/v) acetic acid. Pap smears were obtained at the s
ame time. The results were compared with those obtained using colposcopy an
d/or histology. The Magnivisualizer improved the detection rate of early ca
ncerous lesions from 60%, for unaided visual inspection, to 95%. It also pe
rmitted detection of 58% of cases of low-grade dysplasia and 83% of cases o
f high-grade dysplasia; none of these cases were detectable by unaided visu
al inspection. For low-grade dysplasia the sensitivity of detection by mean
s of the Magnivisualizer was 57.5%, in contrast with 75.3% for cytological
examination. However, the two methodologies had similar sensitivities for h
igher grades of lesions. the specificity of screening with the Magnivisuali
zer was 94.3%, while that of cytology was 99%. The cost per screening was a
pproximately US$ 0.55 for the Magnivisualizer and US$ 1.10 for cytology.