At last, an easier way to have a smear test

a taMPon-like device could make screening for cervical cancer easier and more comfortable.

screenings are currently done with a speculum and some women find them painful and embarrassing.

now researchers from duke University in the U.s. have developed a wand with lights and a camera at one end that can take images of the cervix and highlight abnormalities. the wand can connect to a laptop or phone, which means women may one day be able to self-screen.

Fifteen women tested the wand and said they preferred it to a speculum — and 80 per cent could get a good image, reports the journal Plos one. Clinical trials are now planned.