Systems and methods for identifying images containing indicators of celiac-like disease

Abstract

A method for detecting indicators of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in images of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) includes accessing a set of consecutive images of a portion of the GIT including the small intestine, each image associated with one or more classification scores, each classification score indicating an associated image containing a respective indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy. The method further includes selecting an image subset from the set of consecutive images based on the one or more classification scores for each image in the set of consecutive images, identifying an image segment including all of the images showing a proximal portion of the small intestine, selecting a plurality of images from the identified image segment representing the proximal portion of the small intestine, and displaying the selected images.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 115,283, filed November 18, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to image analysis methods and systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for analyzing streams of images of the gastrointestinal tract to detect indicators of celiac-like disease. [Background technology]

[0003] Capsule endoscopy (CE) allows for endoscopic examination of the entire gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Capsule endoscopy systems and methods exist that are aimed at examining specific parts of the GIT, such as the small bowel (SB) or colon. CE is a non-invasive procedure that does not require the patient to be admitted to a hospital, and the patient can continue with most daily activities while the capsule is in the body.

[0004] In a typical CE procedure, a patient is referred for treatment by a physician. The patient then arrives at a medical facility (e.g., a clinic or hospital) and undergoes the procedure. A capsule, approximately the size of a multivitamin, is swallowed by the patient under the supervision of a medical professional (e.g., a nurse or doctor) at the medical facility. According to some CE procedures and methods, the patient is provided with a wearable device, such as a sensor belt and recorder located in a pouch and strap that is placed around the patient's shoulder. The wearable device may include a storage device. The patient may be given advice and / or instructions and then released to their daily activities.

[0005] The capsule captures images as it naturally moves through the GIT. The images and additional data (e.g., metadata) may then be transmitted to a recorder worn by the patient. The capsule is typically disposable and progresses naturally with bowel movements. Treatment data (e.g., captured images or portions thereof and additional metadata) may be stored on a storage device of the wearable device.

[0006] The wearable device is typically returned by the patient to the medical facility with the treatment data stored thereon. The treatment data is downloaded to a computing device, typically located at the medical facility, on which the engine software is stored. Typically, the number of images transferred for processing is on the order of tens of thousands, with an average of about 90,000. The received treatment data is then processed by the engine into a compiled study (or "exam"). Typically, a study contains several thousand images (about 6,000).

[0007] A reader (who may be a treatment supervising physician, specialist physician, or attending physician) may access the study via a reader application. The reader then reviews the study, evaluates the treatment, and provides their own input via the reader application. Because the reader must review thousands of images, study reading time can typically average 30 minutes to an hour, and the reading process can be tedious. A report is then generated by the reader application based on the compiled study and the reader's input. On average, it takes one hour to review the study and generate the report. The report may include, for example, images of interest, e.g., images identified by the reader as containing a pathology selected by the reader, and an evaluation or diagnosis of the patient's medical condition based on the treatment data (i.e., the study) and / or suggestions for follow-up and / or treatment provided by the reader. The report may then be forwarded to the referring physician. The attending physician can determine any necessary follow-up or treatment based on the report. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for analyzing streams of images of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). In various aspects, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for analyzing streams of images to identify celiac disease-like disorders by identifying images containing indicators of celiac disease-like disorders, such as images characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in images of the small intestine of the GIT. The techniques of the present disclosure can work with images captured by various capsule endoscopy techniques.

[0009] As used herein with respect to the GIT, the term "distal" refers to a direction toward the rectum or portions of the GIT closer to the rectum, and the term "proximal" refers to a direction toward the esophagus or portions of the GIT closer to the esophagus. Furthermore, to the extent not inconsistent, any or all of the embodiments detailed herein may be used with any or all of the other embodiments detailed herein.

[0010] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for detecting an indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in images of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) includes accessing a set of consecutive images of at least a portion of the GIT, including the small intestine, each image associated with one or more classification scores, each classification score of the one or more classification scores indicating an associated image containing a respective indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy. The method further includes selecting an image subset from the set of consecutive images based on the one or more classification scores of each image in the set of consecutive images, identifying an image segment from the set of consecutive images that includes all of the images depicting a proximal portion of the small intestine, selecting a plurality of images from the identified image segment that represent the proximal portion of the small intestine, and displaying the selected plurality of identified images and the image subset on a display device.

[0011] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the proximal portion of the small intestine may include the duodenum.

[0012] In another aspect of the present disclosure, diseases characterized by the presence of villous atrophy may include human immunodeficiency virus, common variable immunodeficiency syndrome, Crohn's disease, and / or celiac disease.

[0013] In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, selecting a plurality of images from the identified image segments may be based on one or more classification scores.

[0014] In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, selecting a plurality of images from an image segment representing a proximal portion of the small intestine includes selecting images spaced across the proximal portion of the small intestine.

[0015] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, selecting images spaced apart over the proximal portion of the small intestine includes selecting images of the proximal portion of the small intestine that are not obscured.

[0016] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, the method may further include detecting one or more indicators of disease associated with the presence of villous atrophy in the set of sequential images based on at least one of a deep learning classifier or a classical machine learning classifier.

[0017] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method may further include selecting a plurality of images from the identified image segment including uniformly sampling the proximal portion of the small intestine based on time or a length of the small intestine, the length being based on at least one of a number of images in the sequential image set or an estimated advancement of the capsule endoscopy device along the small intestine.

[0018] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, selecting a plurality of images from the identified image segment may include dividing the plurality of images from the identified image segment into a predetermined number of sampling points, and for each sampling point, selecting one or more images from a predetermined range of the image surrounding the sampling point.

[0019] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the indicator may include undulating inflections of the small intestinal mucosa, mosaic patterning of the small intestinal mucosa, and / or atrophy of the small intestinal villus.

[0020] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a method is provided for detecting an indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in images of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The method includes accessing a set of consecutive images of at least a portion of the GIT, including the small intestine. Each image is associated with one or more classification scores, each classification score of the one or more classification scores indicating an associated image containing a respective indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy. The method further includes dividing the set of consecutive images into image sets, including an image of the anterior small intestine, an image of a proximal portion of the small intestine, and an image of a remaining portion of the small intestine. The method further includes selecting a first subset of images from the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on application of a first rule set, where at least one rule in the first rule set is based on one or more classification scores associated with each image; selecting a second subset of images from the images of the remaining portion of the small intestine based on application of a second rule set different from the first rule set, where at least one rule in the second rule set is based on one or more classification scores associated with each image; and displaying the selected first and second subsets of images on a display device.

[0021] In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the second rule set may be more selective than the first rule set.

[0022] In another aspect, the first rule set is configured to provide a more comprehensive representation of the proximal portion of the small intestine, and the second rule set is configured to provide a less comprehensive representation of the remainder of the small intestine, or at least the remainder of the small intestine. For example, the first rule set may include one or more rules for selecting images representing the entire proximal portion of the SB, and the second rule set may include one or more rules for selecting only images representing regions of the SB identified to display indicators of celiac disease-like disorders. An exemplary result of such first and second sets of rules for different portions of the SB is that fewer images are selected from the second image subset per unit length of the small intestine than are selected by the first image subset.

[0023] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, the indicators may include undulating small intestinal mucosa, mosaic patterning of small intestinal mucosa, and / or atrophy of small intestinal villus.

[0024] In another aspect of the present disclosure, diseases characterized by the presence of villous atrophy may include human immunodeficiency virus, common variable immunodeficiency syndrome, Crohn's disease, and / or celiac disease.

[0025] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the proximal portion of the small intestine may include the duodenum.

[0026] In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the method includes providing one or more classification scores by a deep learning classifier and / or a classical machine learning classifier.

[0027] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a system for detecting indicators of a celiac disease-like disorder is provided. The system includes one or more processors and at least one memory. The memory includes instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to access images of a proximal portion of the small intestine, select an image from among the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a first rule set, access images of at least a remaining portion of the small intestine, and select an image from among the images of at least the remaining portion of the small intestine based on a second rule set that is different from the first rule set.

[0028] In one aspect of the present disclosure, selecting an image from among the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a first set of rules includes selecting an image representing the proximal portion of the small intestine, and selecting an image from among the images of at least a remaining portion of the small intestine based on a second set of rules includes selecting an image from among the images of at least a remaining portion of the small intestine based on one or more classification scores that indicate the image includes a respective indicator of a celiac disease-like disorder.

[0029] In one aspect of the present disclosure, selecting an image from among the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a first rule set includes selecting an image from among the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on one or more classification scores indicative of the image including a respective indicator of a celiac disease-like disorder, and selecting an image from among the images of at least a remaining portion of the small intestine based on a second rule set includes selecting an image from among the images of the remaining portion of the small intestine based on one or more classification scores indicative of the image including a respective indicator of a celiac disease-like disorder.

[0030] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, the second rule set is more selective than the first rule set. The present invention provides, for example: (Item 1) 1. A method for detecting an indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in an image of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), comprising: accessing a set of sequential images of at least a portion of the GIT including the small intestine, each image associated with one or more classification scores, each classification score of the one or more classification scores indicative of the associated image containing a respective indication of a disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy; selecting a subset of images from the set of consecutive images based on the one or more classification scores for each image in the set of consecutive images; identifying an image segment from the set of consecutive images that includes all of the images showing the proximal portion of the small intestine; selecting a plurality of images from the identified image segment representing the proximal portion of the small intestine; and displaying the plurality of images and the image subset selected from the identified image segments on a display device. (Item 2) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximal portion of the small intestine comprises the duodenum. (Item 3) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy comprises at least one of human immunodeficiency virus, common variable immunodeficiency syndrome, Crohn's disease, or celiac disease. (Item 4) Item 10. The method of item 1, wherein selecting the plurality of images from the identified image segments is based on the one or more classification scores. (Item 5) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the plurality of images from the image segment representing the proximal portion of the small intestine comprises selecting images spaced across the proximal portion of the small intestine. (Item 6) 6. The method of claim 5, wherein selecting images spaced apart across the proximal portion of the small intestine comprises selecting images of the proximal portion of the small intestine that are not obscured. (Item 7) 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting one or more indicators of disease associated with the presence of villous atrophy in the set of sequential images based on at least one of a deep learning classifier or a classical machine learning classifier. (Item 8) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the plurality of images from the identified image segment comprises uniformly sampling the proximal portion of the small intestine based on time or a length of the small intestine, the length being based on at least one of a number of images in the set of consecutive images or an estimated advancement of a capsule endoscopy device along the small intestine. (Item 9) selecting the plurality of images from the identified image segments; Dividing the plurality of images from the identified image segment into a predetermined number of sampling points; and for each sampling point, selecting one or more images from a predetermined range of images surrounding the sampling point. (Item 10) 2. The method according to item 1, wherein the indicator comprises at least one of wavy indentations of the mucosa of the small intestine, mosaic patterning of the mucosa of the small intestine, or atrophy of villus of the small intestine. (Item 11) 1. A method for detecting an indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in an image of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), comprising: accessing a set of sequential images of at least a portion of the GIT including the small intestine, each image associated with one or more classification scores, each classification score of the one or more classification scores indicative of the associated image containing a respective indication of a disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy; The set of consecutive images Anterior small intestine image, an image of the proximal portion of the small intestine; and segmenting the small intestine into an image set including images of the remaining portion of the small intestine; selecting a first subset of images from the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on application of a first rule set, at least one rule of the first rule set being based on the one or more classification scores associated with each image; selecting a second subset of images from the images of the remaining portion of the small intestine based on application of a second rule set different from the first rule set, at least one rule in the second rule set being based on the one or more classification scores associated with each image; and displaying the selected first and second image subsets on a display device. (Item 12) Item 12. The method of item 11, wherein the second rule set is more selective than the first rule set. (Item 13) Item 13. The method of item 12, wherein the first rule set is configured to provide a more comprehensive representation of the proximal portion of the small intestine and the second rule set is configured to provide a less comprehensive representation of the remaining portion of the small intestine. (Item 14) Item 12. The method according to item 11, wherein the indicator comprises at least one of wavy indentations of the mucosa of the small intestine, mosaic patterning of the mucosa of the small intestine, or atrophy of villus of the small intestine. (Item 15) 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy comprises at least one of human immunodeficiency virus, common variable immunodeficiency syndrome, Crohn's disease, or celiac disease. (Item 16) 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the proximal portion of the small intestine comprises the duodenum. (Item 17) 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing the one or more classification scores by at least one of a deep learning classifier or a classical machine learning classifier. (Item 18) 1. A system for detecting indicators of a celiac-like disease, comprising: one or more processors; at least one memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to: accessing an image of the proximal portion of the small intestine; selecting an image from among the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a first rule set; accessing an image of at least a remainder of the small intestine; and selecting images from among the images of at least the remaining portion of the small intestine based on a second rule set different from the first rule set. (Item 19) selecting an image from among the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on the first rule set includes selecting an image representing the proximal portion of the small intestine; selecting, based on the second rule set, images from among the images of at least the remaining portion of the small intestine based on one or more classification scores indicative of images containing a respective indicator of a celiac disease-like disorder; Item 19. The system of item 18, comprising: (Item 20) selecting images from among the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a first rule set includes selecting from among the images of the proximal portion of the small intestine based on one or more classification scores indicative of an image including a respective indicator of a celiac disease-like disorder; selecting, from among the images of at least the remaining portion of the small intestine, images based on the second rule set; selecting, from among the images of the remaining portion of the small intestine, images based on one or more classification scores indicative of images containing a respective indicator of a celiac disease-like disorder; Item 19. The system of item 18, comprising: (Item 21) Item 21. The system of item 20, wherein the second rule set is more selective than the first rule set. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0031] These and other aspects and features of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify similar or identical elements. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for analyzing medical images captured in vivo via a capsule endoscopy (CE) procedure, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device that may be used with aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 shows the small intestine. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary convolutional neural network, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary deep learning neural network, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7A] 1 is an exemplary image of a mucosal undulation, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 7B] 1 is an exemplary image of mosaic patterning of mucosa, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7C] FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of villous atrophy, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8A] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a normal villi, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8B] 1 is an exemplary illustration of villous atrophy, according to aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of example operations for identifying images containing indicators of a celiac-like disorder, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of exemplary operations for identifying an image of a proximal portion of the small intestine, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 1 is a flow diagram or exemplary operations for selecting an image according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of another example operation for selecting an image according to aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for analyzing medical images. In various aspects, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for identifying images containing indicators of celiac disease-like illness, such as images characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in the small intestinal mucosa, within a stream of images captured in vivo via a capsule endoscopy (CE) procedure. The techniques of the present disclosure can function with capsule endoscopy images captured by a variety of techniques. Generally, the present disclosure provides systems and methods that operate to assist clinicians in correctly and accurately diagnosing celiac disease-like illness in patients without spending excessive time reviewing a large number of images. Thus, the techniques of the present disclosure can enable clinicians to make a correct and accurate diagnosis of celiac disease-like illness by reviewing a reasonable or relatively compact number of images, without losing important information.

[0033] In the following detailed description, specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present disclosure. Some features or elements described with respect to one system may be combined with features or elements described with respect to other systems. For clarity, descriptions of the same or similar features or elements may not be repeated.

[0034] Although the present disclosure is not limited in this respect, for example, descriptions utilizing terms such as "processing," "calculating," "determining," "analyzing," "ascertaining," etc. may refer to operations and / or processes of a computer, computing platform, computing system, or other electronic computing device that manipulates and / or transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities in the computer's registers and / or memory into other data also represented as physical quantities in the computer's registers and / or memory, or other information in a non-transitory storage medium that may store instructions for performing the operations and / or processes.

[0035] Although the present disclosure is not limited in this respect, as used herein, "plurality" and "a plurality" can include, for example, "multiple" or "two or more." The terms "plurality" or "a plurality" may be used throughout this specification to describe two or more components, devices, elements, units, parameters, etc. As used herein, the term "set" may include one or more items. Unless otherwise stated, the methods described herein are not limited to a particular order or sequence. In addition, some of the methods or elements thereof described may occur or be performed simultaneously, at the same time, or together.

[0036] The terms "image" and "frame" can each refer to or include the other and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure to refer to a single capture by an imaging device. For convenience, the term "image" may be used more frequently in this disclosure, but it will be understood that references to images also apply to frames.

[0037] The terms “classification score” or “score” may be used throughout this specification to denote a value or vector of values ​​for a category or set of categories applicable to an image / frame. In various implementations, the value or vector of values ​​of one or more classification scores may be or reflect a probability. The term “classification probability” may be used throughout this specification to describe the result of converting a classification score to a value reflecting the probability that each category of a set of categories applies to an image / frame. A model that provides a classification score or classification probability may be a machine learning system or a non-machine learning system. In various embodiments, the model may output a classification score, which may be a probability or may be converted to a classification probability. In various embodiments, the model may output a classification probability. Aspects of the present disclosure may be described using the terms “classification score” or “classification probability.” It is intended that descriptions using “classification score” are also applicable to “classification probability,” and vice versa.

[0038] As used herein, a "deep learning neural network" refers to and includes a neural network that has several hidden layers and does not require feature selection or feature engineering. In contrast, a "classical" machine learning system is a machine learning system that requires feature selection or feature engineering.

[0039] The term "celiac-like disease" refers to and includes celiac disease, as well as diseases that resemble celiac disease (e.g., but are not limited to, human immunodeficiency virus, common variable immunodeficiency syndrome, and Crohn's disease, among others) and other diseases that exhibit villous pathology and / or morphological features such as villous atrophy.

[0040] The term "position" and its derivatives, when referred to herein in relation to an image, may refer to the estimated position of the capsule along the GIT while the image is being captured, or the estimated position of a portion of the GIT shown in the image along the GIT.

[0041] The type of CE procedure may be determined based, among other things, on the portion of the GIT that is of interest and is being imaged (e.g., colon or small intestine (“SB”)), or based on the specific use (e.g., to check the status of a GI disease such as Crohn's disease or for screening for colon cancer).

[0042] The terms "surrounding" or "adjacent," as used herein with reference to images (e.g., images surrounding or adjacent to another image / images), may relate to spatial and / or temporal characteristics, unless otherwise indicated. For example, images surrounding or adjacent to other images may be images that are estimated to capture other regions captured by the other images along the GIT and / or images captured within a certain threshold, e.g., within 1 cm, or 2 cm, or within 1 second, 5 seconds, or 10 seconds of the capture time of the other image.

[0043] The terms "GIT" and "portion of GIT" may refer to or include the other depending on their context. Thus, the term "portion of GIT" may also refer to the entire GIT, and the term "GIT" may also refer to only a portion of the GIT.

[0044] The term "proximal portion of the small intestine" refers to and includes a portion of the small intestine from the beginning of the small intestine to a point before the midpoint of the small intestine, such that the physical length of the proximal portion of the small intestine is less than half the physical length of the small intestine.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 1 , a diagram of the GIT 100 is shown. The GIT 100 is an organ system within humans and other animals. The GIT 100 generally includes a mouth 102 for ingesting food, salivary glands 104 for producing saliva, an esophagus 106 through which food passes with the aid of contractions, a stomach 108 for secreting enzymes and gastric acid to aid in food digestion, a liver 110, a gallbladder 112, a pancreas 114, a small intestine (e.g., SB) 400 for absorbing nutrients, and a colon 116 (e.g., large intestine) for storing water and waste as feces prior to defecation. The colon 116 generally includes an appendix 117, a rectum 119, and an anus 121. Food ingested through the mouth is digested by the GIT to absorb nutrients, and remaining waste is excreted through the anus 121 as feces.

[0046] Studies of different portions of the GIT 100, such as the SB 400, colon 116, esophagus 106, and / or stomach 108, may be presented via a suitable user interface. As noted above, the term "study" refers to and includes at least a set of images selected from images captured by a CE imaging device (e.g., 212 in FIG. 2 ) during a single CE procedure performed for a particular patient and at a particular time, and may optionally include information other than images. The type of procedure being performed may determine which portions of the GIT 100 are of interest. Examples of the type of procedure being performed include, but are not limited to, a colon procedure, a SB and colon procedure, a procedure aimed at specifically presenting or identifying the SB, a procedure aimed at specifically presenting or identifying the colon, a procedure aimed at specifically presenting or identifying the colon and SB, or a procedure to present or identify the entire GIT: esophagus, stomach, SB, and colon.

[0047] 2 shows a block diagram of an exemplary system for analyzing medical images captured in vivo via a CE procedure. The system generally includes a capsule system 210 configured to capture images of the GIT and a computing system 300 (e.g., a local system and / or a cloud system) configured to process the captured images.

[0048] Capsule system 210 may include a swallowable CE imaging device 212 (e.g., a capsule) configured to capture images of the GIT as the CE imaging device 212 moves through the GIT. The images may be stored in the CE imaging device 212 and / or transmitted to a receiving device 214, which typically includes an antenna. In some capsule systems 210, the receiving device 214 may be placed on a patient who has swallowed the CE imaging device 212 and may take the form of, for example, a belt worn by the patient or a patch secured to the patient.

[0049] Capsule system 210 may be communicatively coupled to computing system 300 and may communicate captured images to computing system 300. Computing system 300 may process the received images using image processing techniques, machine learning techniques, and / or signal processing techniques, among other techniques. Computing system 300 may include a local computing device local to the patient and / or the patient's treatment facility, a cloud computing platform provided by a cloud service, or a combination of a local computing device and a cloud computing platform.

[0050] If computing system 300 includes a cloud computing platform, images captured by capsule system 210 may be transmitted online to the cloud computing platform during treatment. In various embodiments, the images may be transmitted via a receiving device 214 worn or carried by the patient. In various embodiments, the images may be transmitted via the patient's smartphone or any other device that is connected to the internet and can be coupled to CE imaging device 212 or receiving device 214.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows a high-level block diagram of an exemplary computing system 300 that may be used with the image analysis system of the present disclosure. The computing system 300 may include a processor or controller 305, which may be or include, for example, one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs or GPGPUs), chips, or any suitable computing or calculation device, an operating system 215, memory 320, storage 330, input devices 335, and output devices 340. A module or equipment (e.g., a workstation) that collects, receives, displays, or selects medical images acquired by the CE imaging device 212 (FIG. 2) for display may be, include, or be executed by the computing system 300 shown in FIG. 3. A communications component 322 of the computing system 300 may enable communication with remote or external devices, for example, via the Internet or another network, wirelessly, or via a suitable network protocol such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

[0052] Computing system 300 includes operating system 315, which may be or include any code segment designed and / or configured to perform tasks including coordinating, scheduling, arbitrating, supervising, controlling, or managing the operation of computing system 300, e.g., scheduling the execution of programs. Memory 320 may be or include, for example, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SD-RAM), double data rate (DDR) memory chips, flash memory, volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, cache memory, buffers, short-term memory devices, long-term memory devices, or other suitable memory or storage devices. Memory 320 may be or include multiple, possibly different, memory devices. Memory 320 may store, for example, instructions for executing methods (e.g., executable code 325) and / or data, such as user responses, interrupts, etc.

[0053] The executable code 325 may be any executable code, such as an application, program, process, task, or script. The executable code 325 may be executed by the controller 305, possibly under the control of the operating system 315. For example, when the executable code 325 is executed, it may cause a medical image to be displayed or selected for display as described herein. In some systems, more than one computing system 300 or components of a computing system 300 may be used for multiple functions described herein. One or more computing systems 300 or components of a computing system 300 may be used for the various modules and functions described herein. Devices including components similar to or different from those included in the computing system 300 may also be used, and may be connected to a network and used as a system. One or more processors 305 may be configured to perform embodiments of the present invention, for example, by executing software or code. Storage device 330 may be or include, for example, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a compact disk (CD) drive, a writable CD (CD-Recordable (CD-R)) drive, a universal serial bus (USB) device, or other suitable removable and / or fixed storage device. Data, such as instructions, code, medical images, image streams, etc., may be stored in storage device 330, loaded from storage device 330 into memory 320, and processed by controller 305. In some embodiments, some of the components shown in FIG. 3 may be omitted.

[0054] Input devices 335 may be or may include, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, a touchscreen or pad, or any suitable input device. It will be appreciated that any suitable number of input devices may be operably connected to computing system 300. Output devices 340 may include one or more monitors, screens, displays, speakers, and / or any other suitable output device. It will be appreciated that any suitable number of output devices may be operably connected to computing system 300, as indicated by block 340. Any applicable input / output (I / O) device may be connected to computing system 300, for example, a wired or wireless network interface card (NIC), a modem, a printer, or a facsimile machine; a universal serial bus (USB) device, or an external hard drive may be included in input devices 335 and / or output devices 340.

[0055] Multiple computer systems 300 including some or all of the components shown in Figure 3 can be used with the described systems and methods. For example, the CE imaging device 212, a receiver, a cloud-based system, and / or a workstation or portable computing device for displaying images can include some or all of the components of the computer system of Figure 3. A cloud platform (e.g., a remote server) including components such as the computing system 300 of Figure 3 can receive treatment data such as images and metadata, process and generate studies, and display them for physician review (e.g., on a web browser running on a workstation or portable computer). An "on-premise" option can use a workstation or local server at the medical facility to store, process, and display images and / or studies.

[0056] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a user, e.g., a physician, may build an understanding of a case by reviewing a study that includes, for example, a display of automatically selected images (e.g., captured by the CE imaging device 212) as potentially interesting images.

[0057] Referring to Figure 4, a diagram of the SB 400 (e.g., small intestine) is shown. The SB 400 absorbs nutrients and receives bile and pancreatic juices to aid in digestion. The SB 400 may be divided into, for example, three anatomical segments: the duodenum 402, the jejunum 404, and the ileum 406.

[0058] The duodenum 402 (e.g., proximal intestine) is the first section of the SB 400. The duodenum 402 is typically about 5% of the total length (i.e., physical length) of the SB 400. The duodenum 402 connects the stomach 108 (FIG. 1) to the jejunum 404 and receives bile from the liver / gallbladder and pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes from the pancreas. Food in the duodenum mixes with the bile and digestive juices. The duodenum 402 begins at the duodenal bulb 401 and ends at the duodenal suspensory muscle 403.

[0059] The inner surface of the small intestine 400 is covered with little finger-like projections of mucous membrane called villi 1002 (FIG. 10). The villi 1002 (FIG. 10) contain numerous capillaries that take, for example, amino acids and glucose produced by digestion into the hepatic portal vein and liver (not shown). The villi are located throughout the small intestine 400 and act to increase the internal surface area of ​​the small intestine wall to increase the surface area for absorption of digested nutrients.

[0060] The jejunum 404 is the second portion of the SB 400. The lining of the jejunum 404 is specialized for the absorption by enterocytes of small nutrient molecules that have been predigested by enzymes in the duodenum 402. The division between the jejunum 404 and the ileum 406 is anatomically unclear.

[0061] The ileum 406 (e.g., distal gut) is the final section of the SB 400, and the anatomical structure distal to the ileum 406 may be referred to as the terminal ileum. The ileum 406 absorbs vitamin B12, bile salts, and any products of digestion not absorbed by the jejunum 404. The ileum 406 follows the duodenum 402 and the jejunum 404, and the terminal ileum is separated from the cecum (not shown) by the ileocecal valve (not shown).

[0062] In general, detection of celiac disease-like illness may be performed based on images captured, for example, by a CE imaging device (e.g., 212 in FIG. 2 ). Processing of such images may be performed based on machine learning techniques, including, for example, neural networks, deep learning neural networks, and / or classical machine learning systems. Examples of neural networks are described in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6 , and examples of classical machine learning systems are described below. For now, it is sufficient to note that processing may operate to identify images containing indicators of celiac disease-like illness, such as specific pathologies (e.g., villous atrophy) and / or morphological features of the small intestinal mucosa (e.g., mosaic patterns, undulations), among other indicators.

[0063] Celiac disease is a disorder affecting SB400. Celiac disease may be caused by a reaction to gluten, a group of proteins often found in wheat. Diagnosis is typically made by a combination of antibody testing and intestinal biopsy. Celiac disease may be characterized by various pathologies and morphologies on the SB400 region, including, for example, mucosal undulations (FIG. 7A), mucosal mosaic patterning (FIG. 7B), and / or villous atrophy (FIGS. 7C and 10B). Villous atrophy occurs when villi are eroded, leaving a surface area for nutrient absorption that is substantially smaller than that provided by normal villi. Mucosal undulations and mosaic patterning are visual features that may appear when villous atrophy becomes prominent. Those skilled in the art will understand villous atrophy and mucosal undulations and mosaic patterning.

[0064] Referring to FIG. 5, a block diagram of a convolutional neural network 500 for classifying images is shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some systems, the convolutional neural network 500 (CNN) may be a deep learning neural network (as shown in FIG. 6). As described in more detail below, the convolutional neural network 500 may operate to output classification scores or probabilities for one or more images captured by a CE imaging device (e.g., 212 in FIG. 2). In various methods, two or more CNNs may be used, such as a CNN trained using villous atrophy images, a separate CNN trained using wavy intrusion images, and / or a separate CNN trained using mosaic-patterned images. In various methods, CNNs may be trained using villous atrophy images, wavy intrusion images, and mosaic-patterned images. Other variations are contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. The convolutional neural network 500 may be executed on a computer system, such as computing system 300 (FIG. 3). Those skilled in the art will understand convolutional neural network 500 and how to implement it, and some details are provided below.

[0065] In machine learning, CNNs are a class of artificial neural networks (ANNs) most commonly applied to analyzing visual images. The convolutional aspect of CNNs involves applying matrix processing operations to localized portions of an image, and the result of those operations (which may involve dozens of different parallel and sequential calculations) is a set of many features delivered to the next layer. CNNs typically include convolutional layers, activation function layers, and pooling (typically max pooling) layers to reduce dimensionality without losing too many features. Additional information may be included in the operation that generates these features. Providing unique information that results in features that inform the neural network can ultimately be used to provide an aggregation method that distinguishes between different data inputs to the neural network.

[0066] Referring to FIG. 6, a convolutional neural network implemented as a deep learning neural network may include an input layer 510, multiple hidden layers 526, and an output layer 520. The input layer 510, multiple hidden layers 526, and output layer 520 are all composed of neurons 522 (e.g., nodes). The neurons 522 between various layers are interconnected via weights 524. Each neuron 522 in a deep learning neural network calculates an output value by applying a specific function to the input value from the previous layer. The function applied to the input value is based on a vector of weights 524 and / or biases. Learning in a deep learning neural network proceeds by iteratively adjusting these biases and / or weights. The vector of weights 524 and biases may be called a filter (e.g., a kernel) and may represent a specific feature (e.g., a specific shape) of the input. The deep learning neural network may output logits. Various types of deep learning neural networks can be used, including MobileNet, Inception, and InceptionResnet, among others.

[0067] Referring again to FIG. 5 , convolutional neural network 500 may be trained based on labeled training images and / or objects in the training images. For example, images may be labeled as containing mucosal undulations and / or containing villous atrophy. In such a manner, according to the present disclosure, training using labeled images may be referred to as supervised learning. Training may further include adding noise, changing color, hiding portions of the training images, scaling the training images, rotating the training images, and / or dilating the training images, among other variations. Those skilled in the art will understand how to train convolutional neural network 500 and how to implement it.

[0068] In some methods according to the present disclosure, the convolutional neural network 500 may provide one or more classification scores or probabilities 506 for an image 502 captured by the CE imaging device 212 (see FIG. 2 ). In the case of a classification score, if the score is scaled, for example, using a SoftMax function, the resulting classification probability may indicate a probability, such as the probability that the image 502 contains an indicator of the presence of a celiac disease-like disorder. For example, the classification score / probability 506 may include a score / probability of an image containing mucosal undulations, a score / probability of an image containing mucosal mosaic patterning, and / or a score / probability of an image containing villous atrophy. In various embodiments, the classification score / probability 506 may be the output (e.g., logit) of a deep learning neural network (e.g., FIG. 6 ) after applying a function such as SoftMax so that the output represents a probability.

[0069] The aspects and embodiments described in connection with Figures 5 and 6 are exemplary, and variations are contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, according to aspects of the present disclosure, a classical machine learning system may be used in conjunction with or in place of a deep learning neural network. As noted above, the term "classical machine learning system" refers to and includes machine learning systems that require feature selection and / or feature engineering for input to the machine learning system. In contrast, a deep learning neural network is an example of a machine learning system that does not require feature engineering or feature selection. In various embodiments, the classical machine learning system may utilize linear logistic regression and / or support vector machines, or other classical machine learning techniques as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0070] As described above, input images for training a convolutional neural network (e.g., 500 in FIG. 5) may include images of a healthy small intestine and images containing indicators of a celiac disease-like disorder, such as pathological conditions and / or morphological features. FIG. 7A is an exemplary image of mucosal undulations. Mucosal undulations may be a morphology indicative of a celiac disease-like disorder. FIG. 7B is an exemplary image of mucosal mosaic patterning. In a celiac disease-like disorder, the surface pattern of the small intestinal mucosa develops a mosaic pattern. Mucosal mosaic patterning may be a morphology indicative of a celiac disease-like disorder. FIG. 7C is an exemplary image of villous atrophy of the SB mucosa. FIGS. 8A and 8B are graphical representations of normal villi 802 and atrophied villi 804. Normal villi 802 contain numerous capillaries that absorb, for example, amino acids and glucose produced by digestion. Villous atrophy occurs when the villi are eroded, significantly reducing the amount of surface area for nutrient absorption, as shown in Figure 8B. Mucosal villous atrophy may be indicative of celiac disease-like disorders. Images such as the exemplary images shown in Figures 7A-7C may be labeled and used to train machine learning systems, such as classical machine learning systems, convolutional neural networks, and / or deep learning neural networks, so that images such as these may be classified as containing the pathologies and / or mucosal morphological features shown in Figures 7A-7C.

[0071] The flow diagram of FIG. 9 illustrates a computer-implemented method for identifying images containing indicators of celiac-like disease, such as images containing pathology and / or morphological characteristics of celiac-like disease. The identified images can be included in a study presented to a physician to evaluate and diagnose whether a patient has celiac-like disease. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more operations of the method may be performed in a different order, repeated, and / or omitted without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other variations are contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. The operations of FIG. 9 can be implemented by a computing system that analyzes medical images captured in vivo via a CE procedure, such as computing system 300 (FIGS. 2 and 3). It will be understood that the illustrated operations may be implemented by other systems and their components as well.

[0072] Initially, in step 902, the operations include accessing a set of consecutive images (e.g., time-series images) of the small intestine captured by a CE device. Techniques for identifying images of the small intestine from a stream of images of the GIT are described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 018,890, filed May 1, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such techniques, as well as other techniques as one skilled in the art would recognize, can be used to provide the small intestine images accessed in step 902.

[0073] Next, in step 905, the operations include detecting indicators of celiac disease-like illness by providing, for each image in the consecutive set of small intestine images 902, one or more classification scores / probabilities indicating the extent / probability that the image contains various celiac indicators, including undulating intrusions of the mucosa 906, mosaic patterns of the mucosa 907, and / or villous atrophy 908. The detection of indicators may be performed based on classification scores / probabilities output by one or more convolutional neural networks (e.g., FIG. 5), deep learning neural networks (e.g., FIG. 6), or any suitable machine learning system or algorithm (e.g., classical machine learning) configured to detect one or more indicators of celiac disease-like illness. For example, as described above, a CNN may be trained using villous atrophy images and images without villous atrophy, a separate CNN may be trained using undulating intrusion images and images without undulating intrusion, and / or a separate CNN may be trained using mosaic-patterned images and images without mosaic-patterned images. In various methods, a CNN may be trained using, for example, villous atrophy images, wavy intrusion images, and / or mosaic-patterned images, and such a CNN may provide a classification score / probability indicating the probability that an image contains two or more classification categories: wavy intrusion, mosaic-patterned, villous atrophy, and / or negative for all (i.e., negative for wavy intrusion, mosaic-patterned, and villous atrophy). Other variations are contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. The detection of step 905 is exemplary, and other pathologies and / or morphological features of the mucosa may be detected.

[0074] In various embodiments, not all of the indices 906-908 may be detected, such that only one or two of the indices 906-908 may be detected. In various aspects, rather than detecting indices in step 905, step 905 may instead access classification scores / probabilities for the image 902. For example, the image may be pre-processed prior to the operations of FIG. 9. The pre-processing may output classification scores / probabilities, as described above, or may associate one or more classification scores / probabilities with the image. Such classification scores / probabilities may be accessed by the operations of FIG. 9.

[0075] The classification scores / probabilities are utilized in step 914, which is described in more detail later in this specification.

[0076] As explained above, the proximal portion of the SB refers to and includes a portion of the small intestine from the beginning of the small intestine to a point before the midpoint of the small intestine, such that the physical length of the proximal portion of the small intestine is less than half the length of the small intestine. As used herein, the "remaining portion" of the small intestine refers to a portion of the small intestine other than the proximal portion of the small intestine. Thus, the physical length of the remaining portion of the SB is longer than the length of the proximal portion of the SB.

[0077] Referring to step 912, the operation includes dividing the accessed small intestine images into two groups: images of a proximal portion of the SB and images of the remaining portion of the SB. For example, the proximal portion of the SB may be a predetermined percentage of the length of the SB, such as twenty percent (20%) or another percentage. If the proximal portion of the SB is 20% of the length of the SB, then the remaining portion of the SB is 80% of the length of the SB. In aspects, the proximal portion of the SB may generally be an anatomical portion of the SB, such as the duodenum, that is approximately five percent (5%) of the SB. In aspects, the proximal portion of the SB may include the duodenum and a portion of the jejunum and / or the entire jejunum. Those skilled in the art will recognize various techniques for identifying images of the proximal portion of the small intestine from a stream of images of the small intestine. For example, motion analysis can be performed on the images of the small intestine to determine or estimate the amount of movement of the capsule endoscopy device between images. Motion analysis can map the stream of small intestine images to the physical length of the small intestine, thereby enabling selection of images of a specific portion of the small intestine. Other techniques for dividing the images of the small intestine into two or more groups representing different portions of the small intestine are also contemplated as being within the scope of this disclosure. For example, other techniques may include, among other things, identifying anatomically distinct transitions between the portions, or estimating the relative small intestine length traversed by the capsule based on knowledge of the relative lengths of each portion.

[0078] In step 914, operations include selecting some of the accessed images based on the results of steps 905 and 912. The operations of step 912 may be performed before, in parallel with, or after the operations of step 905 described above. Step 914 may be performed according to various embodiments, some of which are described below. Depending on the particular embodiment or combination of embodiments, portions of step 914 may be performed in parallel with portions of step 905 or portions of step 912.

[0079] According to aspects of the present disclosure, in various embodiments of the operation of step 914, the operation can select small intestine images based on image score and / or quota thresholds. For example, an image can be selected if it has a undulating intrusion score / probability, a mosaic patterning score / probability, and / or a villous atrophy score / probability that exceed one or more thresholds. In various embodiments, an image can be selected if at least one of these scores / probabilities meets the threshold for selecting the image. As an example of multiple thresholds, an image can be selected if its undulating intrusion score / probability is greater than a first threshold and its mosaic patterning score / probability is greater than a second threshold. In various embodiments, the undulating intrusion score / probability, the mosaic patterning score / probability, and the villous atrophy score / probability can each have a separate threshold that must be met for the image to be selected.

[0080] In various embodiments, images may be selected according to a separation threshold. For example, the separation threshold may prevent an image from being selected if it is separated from an already selected image by less than the separation threshold. The separation threshold operates to diversify the images selected for the reader's consideration and reduce the occurrence of selected images or multiple selected images that show the same instance of a disease indicator.

[0081] In various embodiments, images may be selected according to a quota. As described above, the selected images are included in a survey reviewed by a reader. Presenting too many images to a reader can cause the reader to lose focus and miss information within the images. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the operation of step 914 may select images until the quota is met.

[0082] In various embodiments, the operation of step 914 may select images from among the images identified in step 912 as being within the proximal portion of the small intestine. Diseases of the small intestine, such as celiac disease-like disease, typically begin in the proximal portion of the small intestine. Thus, if the small intestine has celiac disease-like disease, images that are in the proximal portion of the small intestine are more likely to show indications of celiac disease-like disease. In various embodiments, images of the proximal portion of the small intestine may be selected based on various criteria, such as one or more of the criteria described herein above.

[0083] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the act of step 914 can select images representing a proximal portion of the SB, such as images spaced across the proximal portion of the small intestine. In various embodiments, the selected images can be evenly spaced across the proximal portion of the SB or unevenly spaced across the proximal portion of the SB. For example, as described above, motion analysis can map a stream of small intestine images to the physical length of the small intestine. Such mapping can be used to select images representing the proximal portion of the small intestine. Such image selection provides the reader with a sampling of images across the proximal portion of the small intestine to assist physicians in diagnosing patients and identifying or finding indicators of celiac disease-like disease, even in the early stages of that disease.

[0084] In various embodiments, the operation of step 914 can select images for a proximal portion of the small intestine and can select images for a remaining portion of the small intestine. For example, a first rule set can be used to select images for a proximal portion of the SB, and a second rule set can be used to select images for at least a remaining portion of the SB, where the first set or rules and the second rule set are different from each other. More generally, the first rule set can be used to select images for a first portion of the SB, and the second rule set can be used to select images for a second portion of the SB, where the first set or rules and the second rule set are different from each other. The first rule set and the second rule set can utilize various embodiments and aspects disclosed in connection with block 914 of FIG. 9 . Other variations are contemplated within the scope of this disclosure.

[0085] An example of operations for selecting images representing a proximal portion of the small intestine is shown in FIG. 10. The operations in FIG. 10 are exemplary and may be optional. Each of steps 1020-1050 in FIG. 10 may be optional. Referring to FIG. 10, at block 1010, the operations involve selecting images spaced apart across the proximal portion of the small intestine. In various embodiments, the spaced apart images may be evenly spaced or approximately evenly spaced. At block 1020, the operations may involve, for each spaced apart image, selecting a grouping of images surrounding the image, such as a predetermined number of images, e.g., a grouping of 10 images or another number of images. At block 1030, the operations may optionally involve, for each grouping of images, deselecting images within the grouping that have obscured small intestine tissue. In various embodiments, machine learning algorithms, such as deep learning neural networks (e.g., FIG. 6), may be used to identify images containing air bubbles or other content. Those skilled in the art will understand how to train and implement such neural networks. Such machine learning techniques may be used to identify images with unclear small intestinal tissue. Such images may then be deselected. At block 1040, the operations may involve, for each grouping of images, selecting at least one of the remaining images based on a classification score / probability, such as the score / probability of an image containing mucosal undulations, the score / probability of an image containing mucosal mosaic patterning, and / or the score / probability of an image containing villous atrophy, as described herein above. At block 1050, the operations may optionally include selecting an image from each group within the study. The operations of FIG. 10 are exemplary, and variations are contemplated within the scope of this disclosure.

[0086] 9 , the aspects and embodiments described above in connection with step 914 can be combined in various ways. For example, particular embodiments can apply one or more of a score / probability threshold, a separation threshold, an allocation, an allocation for the proximal portion of the SB, an allocation for the remainder of the SB, spaced selection for the proximal portion of the SB (e.g., FIG. 10 ), spaced selection for the remainder of the SB, and / or spaced selection for the entire SB. Two particular embodiments of the operation of step 914 are described below in connection with FIGS. 11 and 12 . Regardless of which embodiment or combination of embodiments is implemented for step 914, the images selected by step 914 may be included in a survey presented to the reader, as shown in step 916 of FIG. 9 .

[0087] FIG. 11 illustrates example operations of the image selection process of FIG. 9 . Aspects of the image selection process of FIG. 9 (e.g., block 914) described above are applicable to the operations of FIG. 11 . In block 1110, the operations involve accessing images of a proximal portion of the small intestine. In block 1120, the operations involve selecting images representing the proximal portion of the small intestine. Such images may provide coverage of the proximal portion of the small intestine. For example, the images may be evenly spaced across the proximal portion of the small intestine or may be unevenly spaced across the proximal portion of the small intestine. In block 1130, the operations involve accessing images of at least the remaining portion of the small intestine, which may be images spanning the entire length of the small intestine. In block 1140, the operations involve selecting from among the images of at least the remaining portion of the SB based on classification scores / probabilities. In various embodiments, the selection of block 1140 can apply other criteria, such as one or more criteria described in connection with block 914 of FIG. 9 . At block 1150, the operations involve including the image selected at block 1120 and the image selected at block 1140 in a survey that is presented to the reader. The operations of Figure 11 can be implemented by a computing system such as the computing system of Figure 3.

[0088] FIG. 12 illustrates another example operation of the image selection process of FIG. 9 . Aspects of the image selection process of FIG. 9 (e.g., block 914) described above are applicable to the operations of FIG. 12 . At block 1210, the operations involve accessing images of a proximal portion of the small intestine. At block 1220, the operations involve selecting an image from among the images of the proximal portion of the SB based on a set of less restrictive / less selective rules. At block 1230, the operations involve accessing images of the remaining portion of the small intestine. At block 1240, the operations involve selecting an image from among the images of the remaining portion of the small intestine based on a set of more restrictive / more selective rules. In various embodiments, the selection processes of blocks 1220 and 1240 can be based on various criteria, such as one or more of the criteria described above in connection with block 914 of FIG. 9 . In various embodiments, the selection process of block 1220 may be less restrictive in the sense that more information about the small intestine may be conveyed by the image selected by block 1220 than by the image selected by block 1240. In various embodiments, the selection process of block 1220 may be less restrictive in the sense that a more inclusive representation of the proximal portion of the small intestine may be selected by block 1220 and a less inclusive representation of the remainder of the small intestine may be selected by block 1240. In various embodiments, the selection process of block 1220 may be less restrictive in the sense that fewer criteria are used to select images in block 1220 and more criteria are used to select images in block 1240. For example, the selection process of block 1220 may include only a classification score threshold, while the selection process of block 1240 may include a classification score threshold and at least one other criterion, such as a separation threshold or quota. In various embodiments, the selection process of block 1220 may be less restrictive in the sense that a less restrictive level of criteria is used to select images in block 1220 and a more restrictive level of the same criteria is used to select images in block 1240.Such criteria may be, for example, a score threshold or an image budget. Thus, a threshold score value may be determined for selecting images in block 1220, and a threshold score value y>x may be determined for selecting images in block 1240, where the ratio between x and the relative length (with respect to SB) of the proximal portion is higher than the ratio between y and the relative length (with respect to SB) of the remaining portion of the SB, while the budget x may be determined for the number of images selected in block 1120, and the budget y may be determined in block 1240.

[0089] Other variations of blocks 1220 and 1240 are contemplated as being within the scope of this disclosure. At block 1250, an operation includes including the image selected at block 1220 and the image selected at block 1240 in a survey that is presented to a reader. The operations of Figure 12 can be implemented by a computing system such as the computing system of Figure 3.

[0090] The operations of FIG. 12 are exemplary and variations are contemplated within the scope of this disclosure.

[0091] In various aspects, a set of CE images indicative of celiac disease-like illness selected in accordance with the disclosed systems and methods (generated in accordance with the present disclosure) may be used, for example, to aid, facilitate, or enable a diagnosis of celiac disease-like illness. For example, if the selected and displayed images show villous atrophy, undulating intrusion, and / or a mosaic pattern, a physician may obtain a biopsy or perform any other medical tests or procedures needed to diagnose celiac disease-like illness. In aspects, the selected set of CE images indicative of celiac disease-like illness may be used, for example, to monitor and / or evaluate the progress of mucosal healing after initiation of treatment (e.g., medication) or following a dietary regimen. This may be accomplished, for example, by performing multiple CE procedures on the patient before and after initiation of the treatment or dietary regimen. The patient's condition, as reflected by the selected set of images presented to the physician for each procedure (or as reflected in a report generated based on a study including the selected set of images), may be compared. In embodiments, a selected set of CE images indicative of celiac disease-like disease may be used to diagnose refractory celiac disease, e.g., celiac disease that may be resistant or non-responsive to a predefined treatment period, including a strict gluten-free diet. In embodiments, a selected set of CE images indicative of celiac disease-like disease may be used to assess the extent of celiac disease-like disease. In embodiments, the disclosed systems and methods may include determining the extent of disease based on the number of images identified as indicative of celiac disease-like disease or based on an assessment of the relative capsule progression from one image to another. In embodiments, a selected set of CE images indicative of celiac disease-like disease may be used to identify areas where pathology and / or morphology occurs that may be biopsied or flagged for closer examination. Accordingly, the disclosed systems and methods may include determining a location or site for a biopsy. In embodiments, a selected set of CE images indicative of celiac disease-like disease, which may be hereditary (like celiac disease), may be used as a screening tool for the patient's relatives.

[0092] While several embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to these embodiments, as it is intended that the disclosure be accorded as broad a scope as the art will permit, and the specification be read in the same manner. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments. Other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto will occur to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. 1. A system for detecting an indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in an image of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), the system comprising: a processor; The processor: accessing a set of consecutive images of at least a portion of the GIT including the small intestine, each image associated with one or more classification scores, each classification score of the one or more classification scores indicating an associated image including a respective indication of a disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy; selecting a subset of images from the set of consecutive images based on the one or more classification scores for each image in the set of consecutive images; identifying a first image segment from the set of consecutive images that includes all images showing a proximal portion of the small intestine; selecting a first plurality of images from the identified first image segment representing the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a first rule set; identifying a second image segment from the set of consecutive images that includes images showing a remainder of the small intestine other than the proximal portion of the small intestine; selecting a second plurality of images from the identified second image segment representing the remaining portion of the small intestine other than the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a second rule set, the second rule set being different from and more restrictive than the first rule set; displaying the first and second plurality of images selected from the identified first and second image segments; A system that is configured to:

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to identify the proximal portion of the small intestine that includes the duodenum.

3. 3. The system of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the system detects indicators of a disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy, including at least one of human immunodeficiency virus, common variable immunodeficiency syndrome, Crohn's disease, or celiac disease.

4. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to select the first plurality of images from the identified first image segment and the second plurality of images from the identified second image segment based on the one or more classification scores.

5. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to select the first plurality of images from the first image segment representing the proximal portion of the small intestine, the processor being further configured to select images spaced across the proximal portion of the small intestine.

6. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to select images spaced apart across the proximal portion of the small intestine by selecting images of the proximal portion of the small intestine that are not obscured.

7. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to detect one or more indicators of disease associated with the presence of villous atrophy in the set of sequential images based on at least one of a deep learning classifier or a classical machine learning classifier.

8. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to select the first plurality of images from the identified first image segment by uniformly sampling the proximal portion of the small intestine based on time or a length of the small intestine, the length of the small intestine being based on at least one of a number of images in the set of sequential images or an estimated advancement of a capsule endoscopy device along the small intestine.

9. The processor: Dividing the first plurality of images from the identified first image segment into a predetermined number of first sampling points; for each first sampling point, selecting one or more images from a predetermined range of images surrounding said first sampling point; Dividing the second plurality of images from the identified second image segment into a predetermined number of second sampling points; for each second sampling point, selecting one or more images from a predetermined range of images surrounding said second sampling point; 9. The system of claim 1, configured to select the first plurality of images from the identified first image segment and to select the second plurality of images from the identified second image segment by:

10. 1. A method for detecting an indicator of disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy in an image of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), comprising: accessing a set of consecutive images of at least a portion of the GIT including the small intestine, each image associated with one or more classification scores, each classification score of the one or more classification scores indicating an associated image including a respective indication of a disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy; selecting a subset of images from the set of consecutive images based on the one or more classification scores for each image in the set of consecutive images; identifying a first image segment from the set of consecutive images that includes all images showing a proximal portion of the small intestine; selecting a first plurality of images from the identified first image segment representing the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a first rule set; identifying a second image segment from the set of consecutive images that includes images showing a remainder of the small intestine other than the proximal portion of the small intestine; selecting a second plurality of images from the identified second image segment representing the remaining portion of the small intestine other than the proximal portion of the small intestine based on a second rule set, the second rule set being different from and more restrictive than the first rule set; displaying the first and second plurality of images selected from the identified first and second image segments on a display device; A method comprising:

11. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the proximal portion of the small intestine comprises the duodenum.

12. 12. The method of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the disease characterized by the presence of villous atrophy comprises at least one of human immunodeficiency virus, common variable immunodeficiency syndrome, Crohn's disease, or celiac disease.

13. 13. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting the first plurality of images from the identified first image segment and selecting the second plurality of images from the identified second image segment is based on the one or more classification scores.

14. 14. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting the first plurality of images from the first image segment representing the proximal portion of the small intestine comprises selecting images spaced across the proximal portion of the small intestine.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting images spaced apart across the proximal portion of the small intestine comprises selecting images of the proximal portion of the small intestine that are not obscured.

16. A method described in any one of claims 10 to 15, further comprising detecting one or more indicators of disease associated with the presence of villous atrophy in the set of sequential images based on at least one of a deep learning classifier or a classical machine learning classifier.

17. 17. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting the first plurality of images from the identified first image segment comprises uniformly sampling the proximal portion of the small intestine based on time or a length of the small intestine, the length of the small intestine being based on at least one of a number of images in the set of sequential images or an estimated advancement of a capsule endoscopy device along the small intestine.

18. Selecting the first plurality of images from the identified first image segment and selecting the second plurality of images from the identified second image segment comprises: Dividing the first plurality of images from the identified first image segment into a predetermined number of first sampling points; for each first sampling point, selecting one or more images from a predetermined range of images surrounding said first sampling point; Dividing the second plurality of images from the identified second image segment into a predetermined number of second sampling points; for each second sampling point, selecting one or more images from a predetermined range of images surrounding said second sampling point; The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, comprising:

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