Dayton VA Medical Center is using artificial intelligence to detect polyps during colonoscopies, which could help detect colon cancer in patients, the Dayton Daily News reported Dec. 12. The medical center is the first Veterans Affairs center in Ohio and fourth in the nation to use this technology.
A patient has already undergone the first colonoscopy using this new tool — Medtronic's GI Genius Module — according to the Dayton Daily News. The procedure was done by Sangreeta Agrawal, MD, who described the technology as a "second pair of smart eyes."
The GI Genius catches areas in the colon that need a closer look that the physician may not have spotted using the camera attached to the endoscope. It also puts a green box around polyps, which, although they are benign, can allow colorectal cancers to arise.