Artificial intelligence in gastrointestinal endoscopy: current evidence and future directions

The diagnostic procedure of gastrointestinal endoscopy serves essential functions in handling gastrointestinal disorders. Classic endoscopic approaches encounter multiple problems because they depend on human operators and yield ambiguous results during lesion detection. The development of artificial intelligence systems has risen as an efficient technology to enhance diagnosis precision and procedural efficiency during endoscopic procedures. The objective of this review is to assess how artificial intelligence (AI) technology influences gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic procedures for both lesion identification and classification, and malignant polyp identification, as well as clinical intervention operations. The research investigates obstacles that exist alongside AI implementation problems in clinical gastroenterological practices and determines forthcoming guidelines. A thorough literature survey was conducted through accessing databases, including PubMed alongside Scopus as well as ScienceDirect, Elsevier, and Springer. Studies after 2019 were evaluated for the AI performance in GI endoscopic examination. The use of AI in endoscopic visual examinations boosts both the diagnostic accuracy of esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy lesions and exceeds traditional analysis methods. AI technology enhances predictions of malignant polyp status, which helps doctors make treatment decisions while lowering the number of unnecessary biopsies. Several obstacles, including technical boundaries and biased data, and regulatory obstacles, together with clinical implementation obstacles, still continue to exist. The advancement of artificial intelligence through GI endoscopy has led to an improvement of diagnostic outcomes and treatment efficiency alongside better clinical choice capabilities. AI will implement its complete role in routine clinical practice, but needs research about current challenges and regulatory adjustments, and technological improvements to boost patient outcomes.