Non-Invasive Non-Ionizing Polarized Imaging System to Assess Structure of Cervix

Background:

• The uterine cervix is composed of muscle and collagen, which change as women age and under hormonal influences like puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. Yet even though knowledge of structure of the cervix (especially the collagen network) is important to detect problems that may affect pregnancy and other women s health issues, no noninvasive techniques are available to evaluate such changes.
• A specially designed polarized camera attached to a conventional colposcope can be used to take cervical images. Analyzing these images may enable researchers to better visualize the collagen network in the cervix.

Objectives:

• To explore and gain experience with the use of a polarized imaging system to study cervical structure.
• To evaluate the usefulness of a polarized imaging system in studying the cervical structure of healthy nonpregnant women.

Eligibility:

- Adult females (at least 18 years of age) who are having regular menstrual cycles and are not on hormonal medications.

Design:

• Images will be takes from the cervix in two different phases of menstruation cycle time, one in the follicular phase (before ovulation) and another one in the luteal phase (after ovulation).
• The images of the cervix will be taken with a vaginal speculum in place with the camera attached to a colposcope. The colposcope will illuminate the cervix using polarized light. Three random cervical locations will be photographed