Point-of-Care GI Endoscopy: Disposable and Portable Platforms, Remote Guidance, and AI Assistance

Point-of-care gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy is rapidly evolving from a centralized, equipment-intensive service to a distributed, agile model enabled by disposable and portable platforms, remote guidance, and AI assistance. This Research Topic invites original research, reviews, perspectives, technical notes, and implementation studies that explore how these innovations can expand access, enhance safety, and improve diagnostic and therapeutic yield across diverse care settings.



We welcome contributions on disposable endoscopes and accessory ecosystems, including performance benchmarks versus reusable systems, infection prevention and workflow benefits, cost-effectiveness analyses, supply-chain sustainability, and end-of-life recycling or waste mitigation strategies. Submissions on ultra-portable and battery-operated platforms should address imaging quality, therapeutic capabilities, ergonomics, and the practical constraints of prehospital, ambulatory, rural, and resource-limited environments.



Remote guidance is central to decentralizing endoscopy. We encourage studies on tele-mentoring frameworks, low-latency communication architectures, augmented reality overlays, and training curricula that enable safe task-shifting to non-traditional operators (e.g., emergency clinicians, community nurses) while maintaining quality standards. Human factors, credentialing, and medico-legal considerations are in scope, as are simulations and real-world evaluations of remote proctoring during acute GI bleeding, foreign-body removal, and triage.



AI assistance promises to standardize performance and reduce variability. We seek work on algorithms for lesion detection, characterization, navigation, quality metrics (e.g., fold inspection, bowel prep scoring), and automated reporting—including validation across device types and care settings, domain shift robustness, prospective trials, and regulatory pathways. Manuscripts addressing bias, fairness, and generalizability—particularly in underrepresented populations and non-tertiary environments—are strongly encouraged, as are model monitoring and lifecycle management in point-of-care deployments.



Cross-cutting priorities include health equity, implementation science, and value-based care. We invite studies that quantify access gains, time-to-diagnosis, referral pathways, and total cost of care; frameworks for integrating point-of-care endoscopy into existing systems; and stakeholder perspectives from patients, payers, and providers. Work on cybersecurity, data privacy, and interoperability standards will help inform safe scaling. Finally, we welcome global and multidisciplinary perspectives, including engineering innovations, clinical guidelines, and policy analyses that chart realistic roadmaps from pilot programs to sustainable services.



By convening evidence across technology, workflow, and policy, this Research Topic aims to define best practices and catalyze safe, equitable, and high-quality point-of-care GI endoscopy for the next decade.