United States: For the first time in US history, the Food and Drug Administration has sanctioned a home-based replacement for the long-dreaded Pap smear—a procedure many women have endured with anxiety and discomfort for decades.
Crafted by Teal Health, this newly-approved innovation—The Teal Wand—promises a “vastly superior experience,” according to the company’s release. Their aim is to raise the number of women undergoing screenings by easing the burden through accessibility and ease.
Traditionally, cervical cell collection has involved a sterile, metallic speculum—often cold and invasive—inserted by a clinician to gather samples from deep within the vaginal canal. This age-old method has discouraged many from routine check-ups, according to NPR.
Teal’s modern approach is different. The Teal Wand, designed with consideration for women’s comfort, operates via a soft swab that gently collects a sample from the vaginal walls. That sample is then mailed to a lab, where it is tested for HPV, the high-risk virus responsible for nearly all cervical cancer cases. A mounting volume of studies underscores HPV testing’s impressive precision and reliability.
Friday’s FDA green light follows an extensive US-based clinical study showing that self-administered HPV tests are just as accurate as those performed in a clinic setting. Moreover, participants expressed strong favor toward at-home sampling and showed a greater willingness to keep up with screenings this way.
Roughly 13,000 new cervical cancer diagnoses are made annually in the United States, with over 4,000 lives lost to the disease. The incidence has seen a steep drop since Dr. Georgios Papanicolaou introduced the Pap smear in 1943—a method that swiftly became the gold standard. Still, about 1 in 4 women in the US fall behind on routine cervical screenings.
Closing this gap is vital, especially for underserved communities. Black and Native American women face disproportionately higher mortality rates from cervical cancer compared to white women. Experts point to increased screening accessibility as a critical step toward eradicating these disparities, as per NPR.
The HPV vaccine, introduced in 2007 for young girls, sparked a global health movement against cervical cancer. Yet, screenings remain essential for prevention, even in vaccinated individuals.
Other countries—Australia, Sweden, and others—have already embraced at-home cervical screening tools, proving the model viable and effective.
Teal Health’s device is set to launch next month, starting in California and expanding gradually. It will be offered by prescription through a telehealth platform, available to women aged 25–65 classified as “average risk.” The company is actively working with insurers to ensure coverage and affordability for those eligible.
With this breakthrough, Teal Health may be reshaping the future of women’s health, turning what was once a dreaded appointment into a simple, empowering act done from the comfort of home.