OSF St. Joseph piloting AI in colonoscopies [Video]

BLOOMINGTON (25News Now) – A local hospital is piloting colonoscopies backed by artificial intelligence to improve the detection of precancerous polyps.

The platform, called GI Genius, is an FDA-approved piece of software that works with the colonoscopy machine, assisting the gastroenterologist in finding precancerous polyps by highlighting or drawing boxes or circles to point out abnormalities.

OSF HealthCare says the software is being piloted at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington-Normal. Dr. Omar Khokhar, a gastroenterologist, championed the idea of trying the new technology to reduce his patients’ risk of colorectal cancer, particularly at a time when new cases of colorectal cancer in people under the age of 50 have been rising at an alarming rate.

Khokhar says the pilot will consider whether to use GI Genius, not only for screening colonoscopies but for colonoscopies when patients have symptoms indicating possible colorectal cancer.

He says GI Genius leverages what it has learned from examining images and results from a large …