title: Quality control and automation in cervical cytology.
abstract: Pap smear is a clinical screening test and does not have 100% sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity of pap smear can be improved with proper collection techniques and education of all concerned. Implementation and maintenance of quality control measures help to detect, reduce and correct deficiencies in pap smear analysis. Advent of automated devices has provided an opportunity to further improve the sensitivity of pap smear. Automation in cytology, seemed wildly speculative a decade ago, is becoming a reality now. Areas of automation include: Data storage and retrieval by computers, automatic staining and coverslipping machines, sample preparation methods, screening process control-devices and imaging systems for searching and interpretation of abnormal cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Maulana Azad Medical College and Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi 110002.
authors.forename: Neeta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Shyama
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jain
mesh_terms: D001331:Automation / Q000379:methods*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011786:Quality Control; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears