AI Guidance for Biopsy in Suspected Cholangiocarcinoma

Digital single-operator cholangioscopy (DSOC) has emerged as a medical advance with an important role in the evaluation of indeterminate biliary lesions. This technique has demonstrated higher sensitivity in the guidance for tissue acquisition when compared with standard endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). DSOC-guided biopsy is considered technically safe and successful for tissue collection. Hand in hand with the development of more precise diagnostic techniques, comes the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) for diagnostic assessment. For the past decade, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasing at a rapid pace. In the biliary tract, different models have been proposed for the characterization of malignant features. Nevertheless, to date, the discrepancy between the visual impression of the operator and the histological results obtained by cholangioscopy still present, affecting the accuracy the diagnosis. Based on the above, the investigators aim to assess the diagnostic accuracy of AI for the guidance of tissue acquisition with DSOC compared to DSOC without AI for suspected cholangiocarcinoma. As a secondary aim, the investigators pursue to compare quality of AI-guided biopsies samples vs. DSOC biopsies without AI.