A joint task force from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American College of Gastroenterology has released an updated set of ERCP quality indicators, reflecting how evidence, risk tolerance, and expectations around value have shifted since the last update in 2015. The message is subtle but firm: ERCP remains one of GI’s most operator-dependent — and highest-risk — procedures, and variation in practice is no longer acceptable. The revised framework spans the full episode of care, from stricter indications before the procedure, to technical benchmarks during ERCP, to outcomes that matter to patients and health systems after discharge.…
Author: Abhay Panchal
What’s new? A research team at Tohoku University (Japan) has developed a high-fidelity endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) simulator that closely mimics real human tissue — including mucosa, submucosa, and muscle layers — with realistic tactile feedback, bleeding, and complication simulation such as perforations. How the simulator works: Why this matters: ✔ Provides a safe, repeatable training environment without animal models.✔ Improves procedural skill acquisition for ESD — a technically demanding procedure with risks of bleeding and perforation.✔ Can standardize advanced training globally — from beginner learners to expert practitioners seeking ongoing practice.
Insights shared with Becker’s ASC Review by five GI leaders paint a picture of a specialty in transition. While colonoscopy remains central to colorectal cancer prevention, the business model built around it is under pressure from new screening options, shifting patient behavior, and changing payer strategies. On the ground, demand remains strong — but it’s exposing operational bottlenecks that force practices to modernize and automate. At the same time, leaders are seeing real declines in screening colonoscopy volumes as stool-based and blood-based tests scale rapidly, often driven by payer-led outreach programs and consumer convenience.
Researchers at East China University of Science and Technology have developed a swallowable, biosensor-based capsule that can detect intestinal bleeding in animal models within minutes. In mice with colitis, the pill-sized microspheres safely passed through the gut, were recovered from stool, and produced light-based signals that tracked with disease severity. The appeal is obvious: colonoscopy avoidance remains a major barrier to screening and monitoring, especially in chronic conditions like IBD. This technology is positioned not as a replacement for scopes, but as a potential early signal — a way to identify who may need invasive evaluation sooner, and who might…
FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe has announced that its latest 800-series duodenoscopes are now compatible with a newly CE-mark–approved sterilization cycle — a development that targets one of endoscopy’s most persistent risk areas: duodenoscope reprocessing. Through a collaboration with Advanced Sterilization Products, Fujifilm’s ED-840T and ED-840XT scopes can now be reprocessed using the ULTRA GI Cycle on the STERRAD platform, offering an alternative to ethylene oxide gas sterilization. The emphasis is on validated workflows, faster turnaround, and tighter infection-prevention standards — without requiring entirely new scope inventories. For GI units, this isn’t just a technical compatibility update. It reflects how device design,…
New data from Bain & Company shows healthcare private equity hit a record $191 billion in deal value in 2025, cementing the sector as one of PE’s most durable growth bets. Aging populations, chronic disease burden, and healthcare’s sheer economic scale continue to make it hard for investors to ignore. But the tone has shifted. With the number of PE firms active in healthcare doubling over the past 15 years, competition for high-quality assets is intensifying. Prices are rising, deal structures are getting more complex, and the margin for error is shrinking — just as firms face mounting pressure to…
NVIDIA and Eli Lilly are committing $1 billion to a joint AI research lab in the San Francisco Bay Area — a signal that AI is no longer just a supporting tool in drug development, but core infrastructure. Announced alongside the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, the lab will run on NVIDIA’s next-generation Vera Rubin chips and bring researchers from both companies under one roof. The goal: generate proprietary data and train advanced AI models that could dramatically compress timelines for drug discovery and design. What’s notable isn’t just the scale of investment, but the strategy. NVIDIA is positioning itself less as…
A study of nearly 1,000 patients undergoing EGD for GERD found that four in ten reports lacked adequate documentation of gastroesophageal junction anatomy — despite this being a key prerequisite for determining candidacy for endoscopic or surgical reflux therapies. Even widely recommended elements, such as Hill grade classification, were inconsistently reported. The consequence isn’t just incomplete notes: poor documentation can trigger repeat procedures, delay definitive therapy, and drive up costs — all while patients remain symptomatic. What’s changed is the therapeutic landscape. As endoscopic anti-reflux interventions expand, details that were once overlooked are now central to decision-making. Yet reporting practices…
After nearly seven decades on the fringes of medicine, fecal microbiota transplantation has finally crossed a regulatory and clinical threshold. FDA-approved, microbiota-based therapies are now part of formal treatment algorithms, and updated professional guidelines have brought long-awaited clarity on when — and how — FMT should be used. But the picture isn’t uniformly progressive. In recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection, FMT has firmly earned its place, supported by randomized trials, real-world outcomes, and explicit recommendations from the American Gastroenterological Association. At the same time, practical access to conventional FMT has quietly tightened in 2025, following the withdrawal of a major stool…
EndoQuest Robotics is deepening its push into intelligent surgery through a new collaboration with NVIDIA, integrating NVIDIA’s Blackwell-powered IGX Thor platform into its next-generation robotic system. The ambition goes well beyond sharper visuals. EndoQuest is building toward a tightly unified architecture where real-time image processing, robotic control, cloud intelligence, and ultra-low latency converge inside the endoscopy suite. Think tissue differentiation during procedures, perfusion visualization, AI-assisted decision support — and even early steps toward selective autonomous actions. What’s particularly notable is when this move is happening. The collaboration runs in parallel with EndoQuest’s pivotal PARADIGM Trial, suggesting a future where regulatory-grade…