Fred Hutch deploys AI technology to help analyze colonoscopies

Endoscopists who perform colonoscopies are trained to zoom in on the nooks and crannies of the colon, the glossy pink five-foot-long tunnel that snakes through the abdomen. They are on the prowl for polyps, small clumps of cells that may turn cancerous if not removed.

They are more likely to miss polyps that are flat and don't stick up into the middle of the colon, increasing the chance that an undetected polyp may develop into colon cancer. These stealth polyps are a perfect match for GI Genius, a new artificial intelligence (AI) technology that Fred Hutch is using to read colonoscopy scans. 

It works by analyzing every image projected on a screen during a colonoscopy. If something appears elevated or depressed, it will put a green square around what it thinks is a polyp.

"We are early adopters, and we are already seeing that AI can really help," said Dr. David Hockenbery, professor (Gastroenterology) and medical director of the procedure suite and head of gastroenterology and hepatology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center.