Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Artif Intell Gastrointest Endosc. Jun 8, 2024; 5(2): 91424
Published online Jun 8, 2024. doi: 10.37126/aige.v5.i2.91424
Ultra-minimally invasive endoscopic techniques and colorectal diseases: Current status and its future
Nalini Kanta Ghosh, Ashok Kumar
Nalini Kanta Ghosh, Ashok Kumar, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India
Author contributions: Kumar A designed the concept, and corrected and finalized the manuscript; Ghosh NK wrote the manuscript and reviewed the literature; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ashok Kumar, BSc, FASCRS, FRCS, FRCS (Ed), FRCS (Hon), MBBS, MCh, MS, Professor, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Raebareli Road, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India. doc.ashokgupta@gmail.com
Received: December 28, 2023
Revised: April 12, 2024
Accepted: May 6, 2024
Published online: June 8, 2024
Abstract

Colorectal diseases are increasing due to altered lifestyle, genetic, and environmental factors. Colonoscopy plays an important role in diagnosis. Advances in colonoscope (ultrathin scope, magnetic scope, capsule) and technological gadgets (Balloon assisted scope, third eye retroscope, NaviAid G-EYE, dye-based chromoendoscopy, virtual chromoendoscopy, narrow band imaging, i-SCAN, etc.) have made colonoscopy more comfortable and efficient. Now in-vivo microscopy can be performed using confocal laser endomicroscopy, optical coherence tomography, spectroscopy, etc. Besides developments in diagnostic colonoscopy, therapeutic colonoscopy has improved to manage lower gastrointestinal tract bleeding, obstruction, perforations, resection polyps, and early colorectal cancers. The introduction of combined endo-laparoscopic surgery and robotic endoscopic surgery has made these interventions feasible. The role of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis and management of colorectal diseases is also increasing day by day. Hence, this article is to review cutting-edge developments in endoscopic principles for the management of colorectal diseases.

Keywords: Colorectal disorders, Ultra-minimally invasive scopes, Advanced gadgets, Endoscopic intervention, Combined endo-laparoscopic surgery

Core Tip: Diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy is evolving in the management of colorectal diseases. The rigid scopes have given way to flexible and capsule scopes. Conventional white light endoscopes have been replaced by high-definition and modified image enhancements. Now, both diagnosis and in-vivo histology assessment could be feasible. Therapeutic endoscopy has evolved to manage selective colorectal disorders for which surgery was considered the standard of care in the past. The role of robotics and artificial intelligence is indispensable.