A Review of Cervical Cancer Imaging: The Need for a Smart Low-end Cervical Cancer Image Acquisition System

Abstract

Cervical cancer (CC) is a disease which can be avoided or detected by undergoing regular screening tests to observe for abnormalities in the cervix. Research shows that there is a lack of population-wide screening program and limited medical experts to carry out screening exercises, especially in low resource settings. This is due to the lack of awareness and limited access to health services. The use of smartphones as a screening tool has been suggested to increase the reach of screening programs to low resource settings. The reason is that as compared to other cervical cancer image acquisition (CCIA) tools, the smartphone is less expensive and can be used by physicians and non-physicians as well. To function as a CCIA tool, the smartphone has to possess certain specifications and properties. This paper reviews CCIA systems, highlighting how they were used, and features considered in choosing them. It exposes why the CCD cameras are mostly employed in image acquisition during cervicography. The need for a low-end CCIA system and its limitation is also discussed alongside reasons why the smartphones are ideal as a CC screening device in low resource settings. The paper goes further to review smartphones that have been used in CCIA based on properties that deems it acceptable as a CCIA tool and their limitations. Some additional features/properties have been considered to maximize the functionalities of the smartphone as a CCIA tool, thereby extending the reach of CC screening. It has been deduced from this paper that Samsung Galaxy S5 is more suitable for low-end CC screening based on properties that have been carefully considered.