Real-time Voice-Guided Artificial Intelligence Improves Biliopancreatic Endosonography Quality: A Randomized Trial
In brief
Voice-guided AI raised median endoscopic ultrasound scan completeness from 81% to 100%
In a randomized trial of 266 patients, real-time AI voice guidance increased median completeness of recommended biliopancreatic endoscopic ultrasound scanning from 81% to 100%. The procedure took about 2 minutes longer, and no serious procedure-related adverse events occurred; the single-center results still need validation across more centers and equipment.
- Journal
- Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (Q1)
- Published
- 28 October 2026
- Study design
- Randomized controlled trial
- Evidence level
- Level 1, High (CEBM 1b)
- Authors
- Rui Wang, Li Tian, Xiong Chen, Yuanyuan Yang, Weiming Qu, Qian Zheng, et al.
- PMID
- 42950933
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cgh.2026.10.008
Why clinicians should know about it
- Picked for Gastroenterology (top studies of the week, 1 November 2026): voice-guided AI navigation improved station completeness
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) quality is operator-dependent, and adherence to guideline-recommended multi-station biliopancreatic scanning remains suboptimal. We developed a device (named EUS-GUIDEQ), an artificial intelligence (AI)-based real-time EUS navigation and quality-control system providing station recognition, voice-guided prompts, and quantitative completeness feedback. We evaluated its performance and clinical utility. METHODS: EUS-GUIDEQ was developed from 27,072 annotated biliopancreatic EUS images obtained from 189 patients and validated on independent datasets consisting of 1,500 internal images and 2,062 multicenter external images. We then conducted a prospective, single-center, randomized controlled trial (1:1) comparing AI-assisted versus standard EUS. The primary endpoint was completeness of standardized scanning stations. Secondary endpoints included station-level and landmarks completeness, procedure duration (observation time excluding additional interventions), and adverse events. Outcomes were adjudicated by blinded expert review of recorded videos. RESULTS: Station-classification model achieved accuracies of 94.2% internally and 78.8% externally. Between December 12, 2023, and May 16, 2025, 266 patients were analyzed (AI-assisted n=132; control n=134). Overall station completeness was higher with EUS-GUIDEQ assistance (median [IQR] 1.00 [0.94-1.00] vs 0.81 [0.75-0.88]; P<0.001), with benefit observed across participating endoscopists. Completeness was higher for most anatomical landmarks in nominal comparisons. Procedure time was longer with AI assistance (12.70±3.23 vs 10.55±3.62 min; P<0.001). No serious procedure-related adverse events occurred. CONCLUSIONS: In a randomized trial, voice-guided real-time AI navigation improved guideline-level biliopancreatic EUS process quality, as measured by station completeness, but increased procedure time. Multicenter, multi-vendor prospective validation is warranted.
Abstract as published, via PubMed.
For healthcare professionals. The summary is generated by AI from the published abstract, and the evidence level is assigned automatically from the study design on the Oxford CEBM hierarchy. Neither is medical advice. Read the full paper before changing practice.