Automated Endoscopy is a software program designed to assist the endoscopist in the detection of premalignant adenomatous colonic polyps. Two large studies have shown that adenomas are missed 25-31% of the time, while colon cancers are missed 6.2% of the time. The study was based on detection rates of 12 experienced, board-certified gastroenterologists who performed colonoscopies on 2,051 patients. The principal reason for missed polyps is the colonoscope sliding past a lesion too rapidly for the endoscopist's eye to detect it.

Automated Endoscopy is an invention that utilizes computer processing of video endoscopic images during colonoscopy for the purpose of enhancing images to facilitate detection and diagnosis of polyps. The enhanced images may be used by the endoscopist or by an automatic system for detecting polyps. In the latter case, when the computer detects a polyp its image will pop up on the screen, alerting the endoscopist to return to the site in question for a more thorough examination.

Issued Patent
5,398,685

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