Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), affects more than 3 million people in the United States alone. Despite the billions of dollars spent each year on IBD drug development, clinical trials remain difficult, costly, and frequently delayed. In a recent article for Clinical Research News, Dr. Chris Fourment, SVP of Clinical Strategy at Iterative Health, explores how AI and computer vision can help overcome some of the most persistent hurdles in IBD clinical research.
The Bottlenecks in IBD Trials
Current standards for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring in IBD rely heavily on endoscopic evaluation. Scoring systems like the Mayo Endoscopic Score (MES) and the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn’s Disease (SES-CD) are widely used to assess disease severity, which helps determine clinical trial eligibility and track treatment response. However, these scores depend on subjective human interpretation, which can vary significantly between physicians.
To ensure consistency, sponsors often require multiple expert reviewers to assess each case, introducing delays and additional complexity. The result is a slower and more resource-intensive recruitment process, even as patients wait for access to promising new therapies.
Where AI and Computer Vision Make a Difference
AI-powered tools offer a way to streamline this process by automating key elements of endoscopic scoring. For instance, software can calculate a patient’s disease severity score directly from endoscopic images or videos, providing a faster and more objective assessment than manual review. This has clear implications for improving pre-screening and referral workflows.
By helping identify whether a patient meets inclusion criteria earlier in the process, AI can reduce screen failure rates, improve trial timelines, and increase the likelihood of enrolling appropriate candidates. This means that patients are matched to relevant trials more efficiently, and sponsors gain more reliable endpoints on which to base regulatory submissions and clinical decisions.
Building a More Precise Future for Gastroenterology
Beyond the immediate advantages in trial recruitment, AI also opens the door to more accurate and personalized approaches to treatment monitoring. Novel AI-driven scoring systems could better reflect individual disease progression, enabling clinicians to fine-tune therapy based on objective data rather than broad categories.
Gastroenterology has lagged behind other specialties, such as oncology, in benefiting from the data revolution. But the application of AI in IBD is changing that. With high-quality data, strong clinical partnerships, and well-defined use cases, the field is now poised to make precision medicine a reality for millions living with chronic gastrointestinal disease.
At Iterative Health, we are proud to be part of this transformation, collaborating with researchers, physicians, and pharmaceutical partners to unlock new possibilities in patient care and clinical development.
About Iterative Health
Iterative Health is a healthcare technology and services company powering the acceleration of clinical research to transform patient outcomes. By combining deep expertise in clinical trials with cutting-edge AI, we empower research teams and study sponsors to expand and expedite access to novel therapeutics for patients in need. Today, Iterative Health is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York City with 250+ employees world-wide.
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