Behind the Scenes | Wednesday, March 30, 2022
SGNA Annual Course Preview: Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Endoscopy
By Mary Grealish, MSN RN CGRN CSRN
SGNA is gearing up for the 49th SGNA Annual Course: Reunite, Recharge, Reflect, taking place May 22-24 in Salt Lake City, Utah! The Inside Tract is speaking with presenters to get insights on what you can expect to take away from their sessions and why you won’t want to miss this year’s event.
We interviewed Mary Grealish, MSN RN CGRN CSRN, who will present “Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Endoscopy.” Here, Grealish shares more about her research and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in endoscopy.
What led you to research the role of AI in medicine?
This topic seems almost unworldly, but it is far from it. AI has been around since 1950s, but medicine is slower to adopt newer technology. Video capsule endoscopy is an example of AI that has been in GI for over 20 years. It was a topic suggested to me, and I found that it warranted research.
In recent years, there have been several published clinical trials evaluating the role of various applications of AI in gastroenterology. It is anticipated that the implementation of AI in gastroenterology over the next decade will have a significant and positive impact on patient care, clinical workflows and patient outcomes.
Why is the use of AI in endoscopy important, and what value does it bring?
AI supports physicians and their changing roles, can change healthcare outcomes and is estimated to cut treatment costs by billions annually by 2026. AI technology can assist with medical imaging, too. We already see AI in use with virtual health for reminding patients to take medicines at the correct time, providing medical advice for common ailments or complaints, suggesting diet and eating habits for people with diet restrictions, reminding them when they need to refill their medications or when they have doctor appointments.
AI also facilitates virtual interactions with doctors. AI can provide proactive medical care by looking at a patient's medical history and identifying high-risk markers for various diseases, and monitoring these patients for any change in their condition that would suggest the need for medical intervention.
Currently, an endoscopist performs, detects, analyzes, decides and treats all along by themselves. AI will be given the role of assistance so the last decision will remain for the endoscopist.
Can you share an example of how AI is being used for gastroenterology?
GI applications include anatomy identification, reducing the blind spot in endoscopy that is associated with missed gastric and esophageal cancers, guided biopsies, determining depth and boundary of gastric cancer invasion, along with identifying and characterizing colorectal lesions along with other data that needs to be provided for a quality procedure.
Who would benefit from attending this session?
Anyone that participates in procedures would benefit from this presentation because the healthcare providers are still needed. With the adoption of AI it can improve patient results and outcomes even for the newer endoscopist.
What will attendees take away from the session?
Although AI is infiltrating every aspect of our world — from business, to education, the government and our homes — it's not immune to the occasional mistake and we are not perfect either. The future considerations for AI include its impact on medicine, legal ramifications, challenges, and the opportunity to enhance human interpretation intra-procedurally and provide real-time information.
SGNA is excited for its 49th Annual Course is to return in person to Salt Lake City, Utah, providing you the opportunity to reconnect with our community and hear the latest evidence-based research in the field. If you haven’t already registered, click here to learn more and register for the Annual Course today. We hope to see you this May!