Frontiers of robotic colonoscopy: A comprehensive review of robotic colonoscopes and technologies

Gastone Ciuti; Karolina Skonieczna-żydecka; Wojciech Marlicz; Veronica Iacovacci; Hongbin Liu; Danail Stoyanov; Alberto Arezzo; Marcello Chiurazzi; Ervin Toth; Henrik Thorlacius; Paolo Dario; Anastasios Koulaouzidis

doi:10.3390/jcm9061648

Frontiers of robotic colonoscopy: A comprehensive review of robotic colonoscopes and technologies

Gastone Ciuti^*, Karolina Skonieczna-żydecka, Wojciech Marlicz, Veronica Iacovacci, Hongbin Liu, Danail Stoyanov, Alberto Arezzo, Marcello Chiurazzi, Ervin Toth, Henrik Thorlacius, Paolo Dario, Anastasios Koulaouzidis

^*Corresponding author for this work

Surgical & Interventional Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

86 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Flexible colonoscopy remains the prime mean of screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) and the gold standard of all population-based screening pathways around the world. Almost 60% of CRC deaths could be prevented with screening. However, colonoscopy attendance rates are affected by discomfort, fear of pain and embarrassment or loss of control during the procedure. Moreover, the emergence and global thread of new communicable diseases might seriously affect the functioning of contemporary centres performing gastrointestinal endoscopy. Innovative solutions are needed: artificial intelligence (AI) and physical robotics will drastically contribute for the future of the healthcare services. The translation of robotic technologies from traditional surgery to minimally invasive endoscopic interventions is an emerging field, mainly challenged by the tough requirements for miniaturization. Pioneering approaches for robotic colonoscopy have been reported in the nineties, with the appearance of inchworm-like devices. Since then, robotic colonoscopes with assistive functionalities have become commercially available. Research prototypes promise enhanced accessibility and flexibility for future therapeutic interventions, even via autonomous or robotic-assisted agents, such as robotic capsules. Furthermore, the pairing of such endoscopic systems with AI-enabled image analysis and recognition methods promises enhanced diagnostic yield. By assembling a multidisciplinary team of engineers and endoscopists, the paper aims to provide a contemporary and highly-pictorial critical review for robotic colonoscopes, hence providing clinicians and researchers with a glimpse of the major changes and challenges that lie ahead.

Original language	English
Article number	1648
Journal	Journal of Clinical Medicine
Volume	9
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9061648
Publication status	Published - Jun 2020

Keywords

Artificial intelligence
Colorectal cancer screening
Computer-aided diagnosis for colonoscopy
Robotic colonoscopy
Robotics for medical distancing

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.3390/jcm9061648

Cite this

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title = "Frontiers of robotic colonoscopy: A comprehensive review of robotic colonoscopes and technologies",

abstract = "Flexible colonoscopy remains the prime mean of screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) and the gold standard of all population-based screening pathways around the world. Almost 60% of CRC deaths could be prevented with screening. However, colonoscopy attendance rates are affected by discomfort, fear of pain and embarrassment or loss of control during the procedure. Moreover, the emergence and global thread of new communicable diseases might seriously affect the functioning of contemporary centres performing gastrointestinal endoscopy. Innovative solutions are needed: artificial intelligence (AI) and physical robotics will drastically contribute for the future of the healthcare services. The translation of robotic technologies from traditional surgery to minimally invasive endoscopic interventions is an emerging field, mainly challenged by the tough requirements for miniaturization. Pioneering approaches for robotic colonoscopy have been reported in the nineties, with the appearance of inchworm-like devices. Since then, robotic colonoscopes with assistive functionalities have become commercially available. Research prototypes promise enhanced accessibility and flexibility for future therapeutic interventions, even via autonomous or robotic-assisted agents, such as robotic capsules. Furthermore, the pairing of such endoscopic systems with AI-enabled image analysis and recognition methods promises enhanced diagnostic yield. By assembling a multidisciplinary team of engineers and endoscopists, the paper aims to provide a contemporary and highly-pictorial critical review for robotic colonoscopes, hence providing clinicians and researchers with a glimpse of the major changes and challenges that lie ahead.",

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author = "Gastone Ciuti and Karolina Skonieczna-{\.z}ydecka and Wojciech Marlicz and Veronica Iacovacci and Hongbin Liu and Danail Stoyanov and Alberto Arezzo and Marcello Chiurazzi and Ervin Toth and Henrik Thorlacius and Paolo Dario and Anastasios Koulaouzidis",

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AU - Ciuti, Gastone

AU - Skonieczna-żydecka, Karolina

AU - Marlicz, Wojciech

AU - Iacovacci, Veronica

AU - Liu, Hongbin

AU - Stoyanov, Danail

AU - Arezzo, Alberto

AU - Chiurazzi, Marcello

AU - Toth, Ervin

AU - Thorlacius, Henrik

AU - Dario, Paolo

AU - Koulaouzidis, Anastasios

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AB - Flexible colonoscopy remains the prime mean of screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) and the gold standard of all population-based screening pathways around the world. Almost 60% of CRC deaths could be prevented with screening. However, colonoscopy attendance rates are affected by discomfort, fear of pain and embarrassment or loss of control during the procedure. Moreover, the emergence and global thread of new communicable diseases might seriously affect the functioning of contemporary centres performing gastrointestinal endoscopy. Innovative solutions are needed: artificial intelligence (AI) and physical robotics will drastically contribute for the future of the healthcare services. The translation of robotic technologies from traditional surgery to minimally invasive endoscopic interventions is an emerging field, mainly challenged by the tough requirements for miniaturization. Pioneering approaches for robotic colonoscopy have been reported in the nineties, with the appearance of inchworm-like devices. Since then, robotic colonoscopes with assistive functionalities have become commercially available. Research prototypes promise enhanced accessibility and flexibility for future therapeutic interventions, even via autonomous or robotic-assisted agents, such as robotic capsules. Furthermore, the pairing of such endoscopic systems with AI-enabled image analysis and recognition methods promises enhanced diagnostic yield. By assembling a multidisciplinary team of engineers and endoscopists, the paper aims to provide a contemporary and highly-pictorial critical review for robotic colonoscopes, hence providing clinicians and researchers with a glimpse of the major changes and challenges that lie ahead.

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Frontiers of robotic colonoscopy: A comprehensive review of robotic colonoscopes and technologies

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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