Swan EndoSurgical has named longtime Stryker executive Erik Todd as CEO, signaling a major push to commercialize its flexible endoluminal surgical robotics platform. Backed by Revival Healthcare Capital and Olympus, the company aims to reshape advanced GI intervention with fully integrated robotic technology — targeting procedures that today remain complex, invasive, and costly. Todd’s arrival brings 25+ years of robotics leadership as Swan prepares for its next scale phase.
Author: Abhay Panchal
University of Miami researchers report that a customized large language model achieved ~95% accuracy in recommending guideline-based follow-up colonoscopy intervals — matching GI physicians in most cases. The tool, validated in 1,000 patient colonoscopy datasets and published in AJG, could reduce errors and save clinicians time, though experts stress a human-in-the-loop remains essential as hallucination and complex cases still challenge current models.
November was a pivotal month in gastroenterology, marked by the first-ever FDA-approved treatment for pediatric IBS-C, updated AGA guidelines pushing for early use of high-efficacy therapies in Crohn’s disease, and new safety data supporting that shift. Yet progress brought new pressure points: research highlighted worsening geographic disparities in GI access, and AI tools—despite hype—failed to meet clinical standards for IBS dietary guidance, reinforcing the continued need for human expertise in digestive care.
A novel, blood-based test developed using fragmentomic features of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) detects colorectal cancer (CRC) with a 90.4% sensitivity and shows consistent performance across stages and tumor locations. METHODOLOGY:
The Dietitians in Gastrointestinal Disorders (DIGID), a practice group within Dietitians in Medical Nutrition Therapy (DMNT) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, have announced the launch of the Board Certified Specialist in Digestive Health (CSDH) credential, now available through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). This new specialty certification recognizes registered dietitians with advanced training and experience in digestive health and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.
A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that while large language models can outperform medical students on multiple-choice exams, they continue to struggle with real-time clinical reasoning. Researchers from the University of Alberta, Harvard and MIT found that popular AI systems often fail to update diagnoses when new information emerges and have difficulty recognizing irrelevant details. Using a validated “script concordance” testing framework — designed to evaluate how clinicians weigh uncertain and evolving data — AI models performed at the level of junior trainees. None matched senior resident or attending physician expertise. The study also…
Obesity treatment is entering a transformative era — and few therapies have garnered more attention or raised more questions than GLP-1 receptor agonists. In a featured session at Becker’s Fall 2025 Payer Issues Roundtable, Lia Gass Rodriguez, MD, chief medical officer at CVS Healthspire Payor Solutions, explored the complex terrain of GLP-1 drugs, outlining a strategy grounded in clinical science, care integration and fiscal responsibility.
At DDW 2025, Thomas Imperiale, MD, laid out a reality the GI community can no longer ignore: Demand is outpacing capacity.Millions more Americans now qualify for colorectal cancer screening — and we don’t have enough colonoscopists to keep up. A few compelling numbers he shared: While colonoscopy remains the gold standard — high sensitivity, long protective interval, and the ability to diagnose and treat in one session — Dr. Imperiale warned that the current system cannot scale.
Here are 10 updates on gastroenterology technologies and AI programs that are advancing the industry forward, as reported on by Becker’s this year.
What if the future of colorectal cancer screening didn’t require a scope… or even stool? A new study in The American Journal of Gastroenterology suggests that an AI-driven fragmentomics blood test from GC Genome may detect: • >90% of colorectal cancers• Early-stage disease (including T1N0, eligible for endoscopic cure)• Precancerous adenomas — something most blood tests fail to do Even more surprising? Performance stayed strong regardless of tumor location or patient age — a known blind spot for many technologies. Is this an alternative pathway for early CRC prevention — or another test competing for limited screening attention?