Guided Therapeutics, the maker of a rapid and painless testing platform based on biophotonic technology, has sold the first LuViva Advanced Cervical Scan to its distributor in Russia.

LuViva is a diagnostic device that scans the cervix with light and uses spectroscopy to measure how light interacts with the cervical tissue. Spectroscopy identifies chemical and structural indicators of precancer that may be below the surface of the cervix or misdiagnosed as benign. This technique is called biophotonics.

 Unlike Pap, HPV tests or biopsies, LuViva does not require laboratory analysis or a tissue sample, and is designed to provide results immediately, which may result in eliminating costly, painful and unnecessary additional testing.

 “Russia is an important market with a large potential screening population of more than 65 million women,” said Gene Cartwright, CEO and President of Guided Therapeutics.

Cervical cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer among Russian women ages 15 to 44 years, with the highest cancer mortality rate, according to the 2016 ICO Information Centre on HPV and Cancer report fact sheet. There are 65.1 million women at risk of developing cervical cancer in Russia. Annually, 15,342 Russian women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 7,371 will die from the disease.

The LuViva will be used for marketing clinical studies and for testing as part of the approval process by the Russian Federal Service for Control over Healthcare and Social Development, more commonly known as “Roszdravnadzor.” Approval is expected in 2017.