Personal cervical cell collector

Abstract

A cervical cell collection device can easily and comfortably be used by a woman in the privacy and comfort of her own home. Once the woman obtains the cervical cell sample, she can be forward it to a physician's office or other lab location for analysis. The collection device includes an outer guide assembly and an inner sampling assembly bearing a collector.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A cervical cell collection apparatus intended for personal use, the collection apparatus comprising: 
 an outer guide assembly curved to approximate the natural curvature of a woman's vagina, the outer guide assembly comprising a protective tip comprising an absorbent material;    an inner sampling assembly positioned within the outer guide assembly, the inner sampling assembly comprising a collector pad, the inner sampling assembly moveable from a first position in which the collector pad is located within the outer guide assembly to a second position in which the collector pad is located outside the outer guide assembly;    wherein the inner sampling assembly is configured to collect cervical cells while in the second position while the collector pad is protected against unwanted sample contamination while in the first position.    
     
     
         2 . The collection apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the absorbent material comprises flocking and is suitable for removing mucus from the cervix.  
     
     
         3 . The collection apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the inner sampling assembly comprises a grippable pusher bearing the collector pad at one end thereof.  
     
     
         4 . The collection apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the collector pad comprises a material selected from the group consisting of cloth, sponge, foam and other open-celled porous materials.  
     
     
         5 . The collection apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the collector pad comprises a large foam disk suitably sized to sample an ecto-cervical region and a small foam disk suitably sized to sample an endo-cervical region.  
     
     
         6 . The collection apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the protective tip is configured to reversibly open to allow passage of the inner sampling assembly and is configured to close once the inner sampling assembly is withdrawn.  
     
     
         7 . A personal cervical cell collection kit, the kit comprising: 
 a personal collector comprising the cervical cell collection apparatus of  claim 1 , and;    a fixative canister comprising: 
 an outer shell;  
 an inner cap that fits within the outer shell but is configured to receive the collector pad of the personal collector;  
 a unit dose container comprising an easily pierceable segment, the dose container containing a volume of fixative; and  
 an outer cap configured to cover an end of the outer shell.  
   
     
     
         8 . The collection kit of  claim 7 , wherein the collector pad can puncture the easily pierceable segment of the unit dose container, thereby permitting the fixative to flow over the collector pad contained within the protective tip.  
     
     
         9 . A method of obtaining a cervical cell sample without requiring the assistance of medical personnel, the method comprising steps of: 
 obtaining a kit comprising a personal collector and a fixative container, the personal collector comprising a sampling collector pad;    inserting the personal collector into the vagina until the personal collector contacts the cervix;    removing mucus from the cervix;    partially withdrawing the personal collector;    extending the sampling collector pad to contact the cervix;    collecting a cervical cell sample;    withdrawing the sampling collector pad back into the personal collector;    withdrawing the personal collector from the vagina; and    inserting the sampling collector pad into the fixative container to preserve the cervical cell sample.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the step of removing mucus from the cervix and the step of collecting a cervical cell sample comprises rotating the personal collector to remove the mucus.