Automated Capsule Endoscopy Adequacy Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Capsule endoscopy procedures often face challenges in determining the adequacy of image coverage, leading to incorrect clearance of patients without visualized polyps, due to the vast number of images requiring manual review and the tiresome process of evaluating thousands of images for pathologies.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that assess the adequacy of capsule endoscopy procedures by determining an adequacy measure based on predefined characteristics, using machine learning techniques, segmental and global characteristics, and displaying the adequacy measure to indicate whether the imaging coverage was adequate to visualize polyps or other events of interest, thereby excluding inadequate procedures and reducing false negatives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual review of thousands of images is performed to ensure adequate imaging coverage, then measurement precision of procedure adequacy is improved, but loss of time and productivity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical review process with an automated computer-based system that processes images and determines procedure adequacy. The system automatically analyzes captured images, applies evaluation criteria, and generates adequacy assessments without requiring physician review of individual images, thereby resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual representation of the procedure adequacy assessment through automated image analysis. Instead of manually examining thousands of images, the system generates a compiled study with automated adequacy evaluation that copies and synthesizes the essential information, allowing rapid assessment while maintaining measurement precision.
2Measurement precision
If manual review of thousands of images is performed to ensure adequate imaging coverage, then measurement precision of procedure adequacy is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical review process with an automated computer-based system that processes images and determines procedure adequacy. The system automatically analyzes captured images, applies evaluation criteria, and generates adequacy assessments without requiring physician review of individual images, thereby resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary automated analysis of all captured images before physician review. By pre-processing the images and generating an adequacy assessment in advance, the system eliminates the need for physicians to manually review thousands of images, thereby maintaining measurement precision while dramatically improving productivity.
3Reliability
If adequate imaging coverage is ensured through comprehensive image capture, then reliability of polyp detection is improved, but device complexity and processing requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates the critical function of adequacy assessment from the overall image processing system. By creating a separate automated module that specifically evaluates whether sufficient images were captured to detect polyps, the system maintains high reliability without requiring complex processing of all individual images, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs a focused partial analysis on key adequacy criteria rather than exhaustive processing of all images. By evaluating specific critical parameters (number of images, anatomical coverage, image quality) rather than analyzing every image in detail, the system maintains reliable polyp detection assessment while reducing device complexity and processing requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for estimating adequacy of a capsule endoscopy (CE) procedure includes: accessing a plurality of images of at least a portion of a gastrointestinal tract (GIT) captured by a CE imaging device during a CE procedure; accessing a plurality of characteristic measures associated with the plurality of images; determining an adequacy measure for the CE procedure based on the plurality of characteristic measures, where the adequacy measure provides a measure of whether an imaging coverage provided by the plurality of images was adequate to capture an event of interest in the at least the portion of the GIT, whether or not such an event of interest actually exists in the at least the portion of the GIT; and displaying an adequacy indication for the CE procedure based on the adequacy measure.