The Spanish engineer who redesigned the vaginal speculum to make exams more comfortable

Joseph Claude Anthelme Récamier was a French physician considered a pioneer of gynecological surgery. In 1829, he performed one of the first hysterectomies on a woman suffering from cancer. His contributions to medicine continued beyond that. He also developed instruments for the examination and diagnosis of disorders of the female reproductive system, such as the cylindrical vaginal speculum and the bivalve speculum. Although he was not the only one to contribute to the creation and improvement of this tool used in vaginal examinations, the design has not changed much since the 19th century.

For this reason, although Pap smears are important tests because they detect the presence of abnormal cells in the cervix, many women find the process unpleasant. However, that may change in a few years thanks to Lilium , a new medical instrument that gently unfolds to make gynecological exams more comfortable.

The idea was Ariadna Izcara Gual's , an industrial design engineer, and was conceived while reading a book: The Invisible Woman . Its theme shows the neglect of women in a world built by and for men, and it was then that she thought it could be the topic of her master's thesis at the University of Delft in the Netherlands. "I was clear that I wanted to do a project related to medicine and women . I sent a lot of emails and Tamara Hoveling , a PhD student, became interested in the topic. She told me that if I wanted, I could redesign the vaginal speculum," she tells El Confidencial.

She also says that the biggest difference between the traditional instrument and Lilium is that the latter "is designed for women ." "It takes into account ergonomics and what a gynecological exam entails. You can even insert it yourself , which can be quite useful for women who don't like contact as much. It empowers the patient," she points out.

She also explains that plastic speculums, which are single-use, are currently mostly used: " This one can be reused . The medical sector is one of the most polluting, and we've thought about sustainability." Regarding the shape, she indicates that it is "more friendly" to women. Another aspect she mentions is that, because it has three valves, a curved, folded sheet that is inserted into the vagina, "it improves visualization of the cervix."

Izcara says he completed the academic project in 100 days and then launched a crowdfunding campaign with Tamara to raise funds to develop an improved, safe prototype to test in real-life clinical settings. "I'm still amazed. We launched it because it had a huge impact in the Netherlands , and we received emails from people who wanted to donate to help the project move forward," he says.

It was crazy. In three days we had 100,000 euros and within a week we had 200,000. All from private donations, that's very good.

“Creating a medical device requires more than a good idea: we're investing in safe materials , technical improvements, usability testing with healthcare professionals, and compliance with medical regulations. Your support makes this possible,” they state on the fundraising page .

Initially, the goal was to raise 12,000 euros to make a prototype: “It was crazy. In three days we had 100,000 euros, and within a week we had 200,000. All from private donations , so that's great.”

Now, they will invest those 223,210 euros in materials testing, prototype production, pilot testing and clinical approval, CE certification, and injection molds and production preparation. Ultimately, the idea is to take Lilium from concept to clinical trials and "lay the groundwork" for a "comfortable, safe, and reliable" medical device. "It will be a long and expensive process; if all goes well, it will be ready in approximately five years ," he concludes.