The role of artificial intelligence in colonoscopy imaging and colonic diseases: A scientometrics analysis and visualization study

Abstract

<b>Introduction: </b>Artificial intelligence (AI) has made a big difference and is used in many different sectors also in medicine. We sought to identify the areas of interest and potential future directions for AI in the field of colonoscopy imaging and colonic diseases by utilizing bibliometrics to analyze the previous 50 years' worth of changes on this topic.<br /> <b>Material and methods:</b> Using the Web of Knowledge (WOS) database, we searched for articles published from 1970 to 2021 using the keywords related to colonoscopy imaging/colonic diseases and AI.  The retrieved articles were analysed with bibliometric methods.<br /> <b>Results:</b> A total of 278 documents were analyzed in this study. The earliest article was published in 1997 and the vast majority of the documents were published in 2021 (n=81). There was a growth in publications number in the last 5 years. The documents were cited 3054 times in total and had 10.99 citations per document. The main Hirsch (H) index of the documents was 27. A total of 41 countries contributed to the literature. The United States of America (USA), the People’s Republic of China, and England were the leading countries on this topic. Also, England had the highest number of citations (total of 974 citations, 31.42 per document) and the USA publications had the highest H index.<br /> <b>Discussion: </b>Artificial intelligence facilitates diagnosis and treatment possibilities, especially in the field of health. Especially the use of artificial intelligence in colonoscopic imaging reduces the risk of missing a possible polyp or a mucosal pathology. The integration of artificial intelligence into imaging methods has been the most in the last 5 years. Most studies on this subject have been done in the USA.<br /> <b>Conclusion:</b> Our research may offer a historical perspective on the development of AI in colorectal diseases. The documents were limited to some developing countries.