Redesigning the C Spec

Enhancing Comfort, Ease of Disassembly, and Healthcare Professional Satisfaction for Cervical Cancer Screening Procedures in Low-Resource Settings

Master thesis (2024)

Authors

M.W. Hofstede Industrial Design Engineering

Contributors

J.C. Diehl Design for Sustainability - IDE (mentor)
S.M. Persaud Design for Sustainability - IDE (graduation committee member)
Faculty
Industrial Design Engineering, Industrial Design Engineering
More Info
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Published Date

27-06-2024

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the development of abnormal cell growth on a woman’s cervix. It is a highly preventable and highly curable disease if detected early. Notably, 22.5% of cervical cancer related deaths occur in Africa but, they have the lowest rate of cervical cancer prevention measures worldwide.

This project focuses on increasing women’s participation in cervical cancer screenings through redesigning the C Spec, a product that lowers the patient discomfort barrier associated with cervical cancer screenings.

The C Spec was developed by the startup company GIC Space. Its design utilizes a narrow body and an endoscopic camera to visualize the cervix via a live mobile phone feed, reducing the diameter needed to stretch the vaginal walls to view the cervix.

Although the original C Spec design improves patient comfort, healthcare professional ease of use was limited. This new C Spec design therefore utilizes a speculum style handle attached to the original C Spec main body to allow for intuitive use by healthcare professionals while maintaining patient comfort.