, Gwang Ha Kim
Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine and Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea
© 2026 Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Conflicts of Interest
Gwang Ha Kim is currently serving as a deputy editor for Clinical Endoscopy; however, he was not involved in the peer reviewer selection, evaluation, or decision process for this article. Hye Kyung Jeon has no potential conflicts of interest.
Funding
None.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization: GHK; Data curation: HKJ; Writing–original draft: HKJ; Writing–review & editing: all authors.
| Study | Year | Method | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| VSE | |||
| Nakatani et al. | 2007 | Three-dimensional measurement endoscopic system with virtual rulers | A novel endoscopic system equipped with four laser beam sources provided virtual rulers over endoscopic images, allowing physicians to measure lesions accurately. |
| Yoshioka et al. | 2021 | VSE for real-time polyp measurement | The virtual scale function of gastrointestinal endoscopy reduced measurement errors to ≤0.7 mm. Compared with biopsy forceps, VSE provided significantly more precise real-time polyp size estimations (p<0.001). |
| Shimoda et al. | 2022 | Prospective study comparing VSE and visual estimation of polyp size | VSE demonstrated an 84.0% accuracy in polyp size estimation compared with 62.5% for visual estimation. However, VSE required significantly longer measurement times (6.4 min vs. 2.9 min, p<0.001). |
| Djinbachian et al. | 2023 | Randomized trial on comparison of VSE, biopsy forceps, and endoscopic ruler in polyp measurement | VSE had a higher accuracy (82.7%) than biopsy forceps (78.9%) and endoscopic ruler (78.4%). VSE also reduced the rate of misclassification of polyps at clinically relevant size thresholds (5 mm, 10 mm, and 20 mm). |
| Minakata et al. | 2024 | Prospective study on VSE accuracy for measuring early gastrointestinal lesions | VSE measurement had significantly lower variability than visual estimation (p<0.001). VSE was particularly effective for accurately measuring lesions of various sizes and morphologies in real clinical settings. |
| AI-assisted VR in polyps | |||
| Abdelrahim et al. | 2022 | Computer vision techniques for polyp classification | SfM had an 85.2% accuracy, far surpassing the 59.5% accuracy of endoscopists in polyp size classification as ≤5 mm or >5 mm. The CNN showed an accuracy of 80% for distinguishing polyps >5 mm from diminutive polyps in ten videos of human polyps. |
| Kwak et al. | 2022 | AI-based polyp size measurement using W-Net model | The AI-based method significantly improved accuracy in polyp size estimation compared with visual estimation and biopsy forceps. The concordance correlation coefficient was 0.961, indicating a high level of agreement with true polyp size measurements. |
| Wang et al. | 2024 | Deep learning-based real-time system (ENDOANGEL-CPS) for polyp size estimation | The ENDOANGEL-CPS system had a much higher accuracy in estimating polyp size than human endoscopists (89.9% vs. 54.7%, p<0.001). It significantly reduced inappropriate surveillance recommendations (1.5% vs. 16.6% for endoscopists, p<0.001). |
| AI-assisted VR in esophageal varices | |||
| Jin et al. | 2023 | AI-based VR for measuring esophageal varices diameter | VR provided equivalent accuracy to esophageal varix manometer but with significantly reduced measurement time (31 s vs. 159 s, p<0.01). VR can reduce unnecessary interventions, decrease the risk of complications, and serve as a cost-effective tool for esophageal varix assessment. |
| Fang et al. | 2024 | VR-based diameter measurement in esophageal variceal endoscopic therapy | In a multicenter study of 345 patients with cirrhosis, VR-based esophageal variceal diameter measurements significantly reduced rebleeding rates after endoscopic therapy for varices >1 cm (3.8% vs. 11.3%, p=0.048). |
| Mao et al. | 2024 | AI-based VR for measuring the diameter of esophageal varices | A strong correlation was found between AI-measured esophageal varix diameter and the portal pressure gradient, with r=0.521 (p<0.001). |
| Advantage | Disadvantage | |
|---|---|---|
| Visual estimation | Simple, quick to perform | Subjective, experience-dependent |
| No additional equipment needed | Lacks standardization | |
| High interobserver variability | ||
| Biopsy forceps/endoscopic rulers | More accurate than visual estimation | Time-consuming |
| Can be used in real time | Requires precise positioning, making it difficult for some anatomical locations | |
| Virtual scale endoscopy | Real-time lesion size measurement | Needs special equipment |
| Reduces interobserver variability | Requires training | |
| Highly accurate | Prolonged procedural time | |
| Accuracy affected by scope angle and lesion orientation | ||
| AI-assisted virtual rulers | Automated, highly accurate | Variability of performance |
| Real-time processing | Requires AI integration | |
| Highly accurate | Regulatory approval and clinical validation are necessary |
VSE, virtual scale endoscopy; AI, artificial intelligence; VR, virtual ruler; SfM, structure from motion; CNN, convolutional neural network.
AI, artificial intelligence.
