Artificial intelligence in gastroenterology: A state-of-the-art review

Abstract

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, with clinical applications progressively being explored for most of the medical specialties. The field of gastroenterology and hepatology, substantially reliant on vast amounts of imaging studies, is not an exception. The clinical applications of AI systems in this field include the identification of premalignant or malignant lesions ( e.g. , identification of dysplasia or esophageal adenocarcinoma in Barrett’s esophagus, pancreatic malignancies), detection of lesions ( e.g. , polyp identification and classification, small-bowel bleeding lesion on capsule endoscopy, pancreatic cystic lesions), development of objective scoring systems for risk stratification, predicting disease prognosis or treatment response [ e.g. , determining survival in patients post-resection of hepatocellular carcinoma), determining which patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) will benefit from biologic therapy], or evaluation of metrics such as bowel preparation score or quality of endoscopic examination. The objective of this comprehensive review is to analyze the available AI-related studies pertaining to the entirety of the gastrointestinal tract, including the upper, middle and lower tracts; IBD; the hepatobiliary system; and the pancreas, discussing the findings and clinical applications, as well as outlining the current limitations and future directions in this field.

Comment on “Artificial intelligence in gastroenterology: A state-of-the-art review”

“…We read with interest the in-depth review by Kröner et al [ 1 ]. The authors presented a thorough account of the status and knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday practice in gastroenterology[ 1 ].…”

“…We read with interest the in-depth review by Kröner et al [ 1 ]. The authors presented a thorough account of the status and knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday practice in gastroenterology[ 1 ]. As we apply AI in picture analysis of colon capsule endoscopy (CCE), we feel obliged to offer some relevant insights.…”

Using of artificial intelligence: Current and future applications in colorectal cancer screening

“…In this issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology , a review article by Kröner et al [ 3 ] is entitled “Artificial intelligence in gastroenterology: a state-of-the-art review discussing the findings and a broad spectrum of clinical applications.” The authors reviewed the literature highlighting the use of AI in current and future applications, especially in the detection of lesions and identification of pre-malignant or malignant lesions. However, we would like to mention that colonic disease detection of lesions using techniques such as polyp identification and classification are limited in number; these are not available in all AI systems, and clinical trial data from the USA are particularly limited[ 4 ].…”

“…Pentax Medical, Medronic, and EndoBrain provide only colonic polyp detection, and they lack the ability to classify the features of the CAD EYE system (Fujifilm) used in Europe and Japan[ 4 ]. Although the authors outlined the study limitations because of the lack of creating “universal datasets” and the lack of validating external in clinical settings and advise on future directions for research in this field, the important boundaries of AI are around clinical research trials, assessing AI in daily clinical practice, and around reimbursement and other ethical issues and safety challenges not highlighted here[ 3 ].…”

Application Status and Prospects of Artificial Intelligence in Peptic Ulcers

“…In the medical field, DL-based intelligent systems can automatically extract and learn clinical data, which can not only help doctors diagnose diseases but also accurately predict prognosis. Currently, DL has been prominent in the diagnosis of lung cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer, prostate cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and has also been widely reported in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases ( 5 , 6 ).…”