Colonoscopy is an endoscopic technique that allows a physician to inspect the inside of the human colon to screen for colorectal cancer---the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. Millions of colonoscopic procedures are performed annually. However, an objective method that estimates the quality of colonoscopy (e.g., how much effort was undertaken to insure maximal inspection of the visible parts of the inside of the colon) does not exist, but is of significant importance. Together with collaborators at Mayo Clinic Rochester and University of North Texas (UNT), Drs. Wong and Tavanapong have pioneered methods and software tools for automatically measuring objective quality of colonoscopy. To the best of their knowledge, the invention is the first of its kind in the world. This research work also received the 2006 ACG (American College of Gastroenterology) Governors Award for Excellence in Clinical Research for "the Best Scientific Paper". The goals outlined in this Grow Iowa Values Fund (GIVF) proposal are: 1) To improve the automated objective quality measurement algorithms and software; 2) To evaluate the effectiveness of the invention at several hospitals and clinics. The proposed tasks will help EndoMetric, an Iowa-based startup company, to commercialize the endoscopic research results. Broad Impact: The technology will enable large-scale, objective quality control in day-to-day procedure-based medical practice, which is currently not feasible. Therefore, the technology is attractive for all hospitals and out-patient clinics that strive to optimize healthcare delivery.
For more information about the projects funded by Grow Iowa Values Fund (GIVF), see Iowa State awards $1 million for research promoting Iowa economic development