The new Roche cobas® HPV Test app for iPad, which provides essential information about cervical cancer, human papilloma virus (HPV) testing and HPV genotypes, is now available free of charge from the App Store. Produced by Roche's UK and Ireland diagnostics affiliate as an aid to health professionals, the cobas HPV Test app for iPad provides a wealth of information about the role of HPV testing in the cervical screening programme. Topics covered include the link between HPV and cervical cancer, the value of genotyping, and the role of HPV testing in today’s cervical screening approaches. Additionally, there is background to the NHS cervical screening programme (CSP) for the triage of women with borderline or low-grade cervical abnormalities across England, and an explanation of how the cobas HPV Test works. The cobas HPV test exemplifies Roche's dedication to personalised healthcare, helping clinicians to direct resources towards the women at greatest risk of developing cervical cancer.
Consultant Gynaecologist, Dr Sikhar Sircar, uses the cobas HPV Test app to train GPs, nursing staff and medical students. 2The cobas HPV Test app is very easy to use as a teaching tool and it has saved valuable time in the preparation of educational presentations," he says. "The app provides a wealth of relevant statistics, which are much easier to present in a graphic format."
In addition to making the new app freely available, as part of its commitment to equip healthcare professionals with the supporting information they need, Roche is also running educational HPV Masterclasses around the country.
Hilary Brown, has been using the cobas HPV Test app as a teaching tool. "I find it very user friendly and informative without being too academic and technical," she comments. "We have used it to enhance the knowledge of Clinical Support Workers, who are our chaperones in Colposcopy. I also use the app regularly to teach 4th year medical students."
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world's largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, infectious diseases, inflammation, metabolism and neuroscience. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. Roche's personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. In 2012 Roche had over 82,000 employees worldwide and invested over 8 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 45.5 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.