By Marti Webb Slay
Grandview Medical Center has opened a new artificial intelligence image-guided advanced endoscopy suite, the first in Alabama.
This unit is specifically designed for gastroenterological procedures. “Fluoroscopy can be used in many specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, pulmonology, and so on,” said Mohannad Dugum, MD, director of Advanced Endoscopy at Grandview. “This is designed for GI procedures. That means the way it’s structured, the movements of the arms, and the bed is all geared toward what we do.”
Fluoroscopy uses x-rays for several advanced endoscopy procedures, including endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which aids in the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant diseases of the bile duct and pancreas. Fluoroscopy is also used to assist with the placement of stents in the GI tract, relieving blockages due to benign conditions and cancers of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon.
The new fluoroscopy unit provides a high-quality image while reducing radiation for the patient and medical staff. “The AI capability uses very sophisticated algorithms,” Dugum said. “During the procedure, it recognizes which part of the GI tract I’m focused on, mainly by looking at the scope tip and the devices and why we are utilizing them. The machine recognizes that on its own and is able to focus the radiation only on the field of interest. By doing that live during the procedure, it is minimizing the release of radiation to the patient, to me and to the rest of the staff, so it’s very beneficial without any reduction in the quality of image.
“In fact, because it’s focusing the radiation on a smaller field, it’s able to enhance the image so we’re actually seeing better with a higher-quality image, but at the same time, the amount of radiation being released and the side effects of that radiation are being reduced by upward of 80 percent according to studies. Less radiation time translates into faster procedural times, and less time under anesthesia, which is always good for patients. Although there is no data yet, we feel less time to interpret an image translates to an enhanced procedure, and better patient satisfaction, all with a much-improved radiation safety profile.
No extra training is required to use the new technology. “There is no additional training, because the AI is built into the machine itself,” he said. “Imagine when I am doing the procedure, I’m looking at a 36 inch screen, but I’m only really looking at probably 10 square inches. So this machine is doing is focusing on the 10 inches, and it minimizes and blurs down – not to a very high level – the remainder part of the screen. That’s how it works, and you can shut off the AI part of it and see everything with the maximum radiation, so if you need to see that for any reason, you can shut off that extra layer of AI capacity.
“AI image-guided fluoroscopy is not yet standard in Alabama, but it is the standard and has been used in multiple endoscopy labs at high-level medical institutions throughout the country. It has been available for three to four years, and they continue to update it, so we got the latest version. The importance of this is we brought this modern technology to the state, and I think it’s going to continue to open doors for other GI labs to acquire a unit like this.”