ABSTRACT
Artificial intelligence (AI) applications have become widely popular across the healthcare ecosystem. Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) was adopted in the NHS England pilot project following the recent COVID pandemic's impact. It demonstrated its capability to relieve the national backlog in endoscopy. As a result, AI-assisted colon capsule video analysis has become gastroenterology's most active research area. However, with rapid AI advances, mastering these complex machine learning concepts remains challenging for healthcare professionals. This forms a barrier for clinicians to take on this new technology and embrace the new era of big data. This paper aims to bridge the knowledge gap between the current CCE system and the future, fully integrated AI system. The primary focus is on simplifying the technical terms and concepts in machine learning. This will hopefully address the general "fear of the unknown in AI" by helping healthcare professionals understand the basic principle of machine learning in capsule endoscopy and apply this knowledge in their future interactions and adaptation to AI technology. It also summarises the evidence of AI in CCE and its impact on diagnostic pathways. Finally, it discusses the unintended consequences of using AI, ethical challenges, potential flaws, and bias within clinical settings.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable disruption in healthcare services and has had a substantial impact on the care of patients with chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease. Endoscopy services were significantly restricted, resulting in long waiting lists. There has been a growing interest in the use of capsule endoscopy in the diagnostic pathway and management of these patients. This review explores the published literature on the role of colon capsule endoscopy in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease as a method for mucosal assessment of extent, severity, and response to treatment. Colon capsule preparation regimens and scoring systems are reported. The studies indicate that, despite inherent limitations of minimally invasive capsule endoscopy, there is increasing evidence to support the use of the second-generation colon capsule in inflammatory bowel disease evaluation, providing an additional pathway to expedite investigation of appropriate patients especially during and after the pandemic.
ABSTRACT
In the constantly developing era of minimal diagnostic invasiveness, the role of colon capsule endoscopy in colonic examination is being increasingly recognised, especially in the context of curtailed endoscopy services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a safe diagnostic tool with low adverse event rates. As with other endoscopic modalities, various colon capsule endoscopy scores allow the standardisation of reporting and reproducibility. As bowel cleanliness affects CCE's diagnostic yield, a few operator-dependent scores (Leighton-Rex and CC-CLEAR scores) and a computer-dependent score (CAC score) have been developed to grade bowel cleanliness objectively. CCE can be used to monitor IBD mucosal disease activity through the UCEIS and the panenteric CECDAIic score for UC and CD, respectively. CCE may also have a role in CRC screening, given similar sensitivity and specificity rates to conventional colonoscopy to detect colonic polyps ≥ 10 mm and CRC. Given CCE's diagnostic yield and reproducible clinical scores with high inter-observer agreements, CCE is fast becoming a suitable alternative to conventional colonoscopy in specific patient populations.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Capsule endoscopy (CE) is an established modality in the diagnostic algorithm of small bowel (SB) pathology. Its use has expanded for investigation of upper and lower gastrointestinal diseases with similar prototypes. AREAS COVERED: This review covers the role and recent advances of CE, as a non-invasive investigative tool. EXPERT OPINION: The use of upper gastrointestinal CE is useful in patients who require surveillance for varices particularly in the current era of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also shown high accuracy in the detection of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in patients presenting with a suspicion of hemorrhage. Findings on CE help to guide further management by device-assisted enteroscopy. The data on colon CE suggest comparable diagnostic accuracy to colonoscopy for polyp detection; however, more evidence is required in the high-risk group. Crohn's CE has become an integral part of the management of patients with Crohn's disease offering a comparative assessment tool post escalation of therapy. Artificial intelligence within CE has demonstrated similar if not better diagnostic yield compared to the human with a significantly shorter reading time. Artificial intelligence is likely to be in-built within CE reading platforms over the next few years minimizing reporting time and human error.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Capsule Endoscopy , Gastrointestinal Diseases/diagnosis , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/prevention & control , Capsule Endoscopy/instrumentation , Capsule Endoscopy/methods , Capsule Endoscopy/trends , Gastrointestinal Diseases/etiology , HumansABSTRACT
AIM: The coronavirus pandemic has led to significant challenges for healthcare delivery across the globe. Non-emergency endoscopic activity in the UK has been postponed, raising concerns of increased delays in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer and a surge in demand once services resume. Measures to mitigate this risk must be considered. METHOD: This paper reviews various investigative modalities for colorectal disease which could be deployed during cessation of colonoscopy services. We focus on colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) due to its relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic and its ability to triage patients effectively to further endoscopic investigations. RESULTS: CT of the abdomen and pelvis has been suggested as a triage tool while access to colonoscopy is limited. However, CT may lead to the spread of COVID-19 as patients attend the hospital, and it exposes them to the risks of radiation. Faecal immunochemistry tests have been demonstrated as a good predictor of colonic pathology and could be safely used to risk stratify patients when prioritizing colonoscopy. CCE is a safe and innovative technology for investigating the colon. Procedures can be carried out in the community and can be conducted safely during the coronavirus pandemic. It has been shown to be an accurate detector of colonic neoplasia and can reduce demand for colonoscopy. CONCLUSION: As colonoscopy services resume, they will probably experience high demand leading to further delays for patients. CCE could be used to reduce the number of patients requiring colonoscopy and triage those requiring further endoscopic investigations appropriately.