UriSponge™ – STI and HPV Screening made easy.

UriSponge™, STI, HPV Sample Collection, STD | Medical Supply Company

Amid recent concerns of a national outbreak of early infectious syphilis, it has come to light that the covid-19 pandemic may well be contributing to a potentially significant reservoir of undiagnosed sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Reduced levels of STD screening due to sexual health services in Ireland being scaled back or closed completely during the pandemic is adding to concern.

Many people believe that they’d be aware if they had an STD due to symptoms but the truth is most people with an STD don’t even know that they are sick. High rates of asymptomatic cases is why some scientists refer to STDs as the hidden epidemic – often they’re invisible and can result in serious long term health consequences such as infertility. For this reason it’s important that as lockdown restrictions are eased and our social lives return to normal that an increased uptake in STD screening is seen across the country.

A significant obstacle standing in the way of widespread regular screening is the fact that many people see the STD screening procedure as an uncomfortable and invasive one. Men who thought they might have a bacterial STD like chlamydia or gonorrhoea traditionally got tested by having a swab inserted into their urethra while women had to undergo a pelvic exam during which a cervical swab would be taken and tested for bacteria.

Thanks to Copan’s UriSponge™ chlamydia and gonorrhoea tests are now a much less daunting prospect compared to urethral or cervical swabs and are quickly becoming standard practice for STD screening.

UriSponge™ is an easy-to-use urine collection and transport kit. The UriSponge™ collection device combines a plastic tube and a screw cap with attached sponges impregnated with boric acid and sodium formate urine preservatives. Simply collect a sample by dipping the sponge momentarily into urine specimen and send it off to be tested.

Benefits of using UriSponge™

  • Easy to Use – Preservatives, Boric Acid and Sodium Formate, chemically bonded into the sponge, are activated on contact with urine.  Once the sponge applicator is saturated with urine, simply close the container and send it to the lab for analysis.
  • Self-collection at home in complete privacy, ideal for people with impaired mobility or difficulties reaching clinics.
  • Non-invasive and better accepted by patients for HPV and STI screening.
  • Versatile System – UriSponge™ can be used for traditional culture, as well as for preservation of nucleic acids.
  • Safety – No hypodermic needle urine transfer straw needed, eliminating potential injury and sharps disposal costs.
  • No Fill Line Needed – Stoichiometric principle guarantees mixture of urine and preservatives in correct proportions resulting in reduced repeat collections from patient due to inaccurate filling of boric acid tubes.
  • Maintains viability of bacteria at refrigerated and room temperature for up to 48 hours.
  • Optimized for Automation – as part of the LBM™ line, UriSponge™ was designed for use with automation, allowing laboratories increased return on investment by easily automating a high-volume sample that comes into the laboratory. If processed manually, simply centrifuge the tube to release urine from the sponge.

By adopting UriSponge™, facilities ensure their samples are collected easily, correctly and that most importantly when laboratories receive the samples, the viability of the organisms have remained, and tests results are accurate.

For further information on UriSponge™ click here or check out the video below to see just how easy the product is to use.

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