CLASSICA publication
Distinguishing between benign and malignant tumours during surgery requires the highest level of skill and accuracy. But what if the precision of this crucial decision could be enhanced with artificial intelligence? This is the groundbreaking question at the heart of the CLASSICA project, where AI is brought into the operating room.
We are delighted to share a new project publication, “CLASSICA: Validating artificial intelligence in classifying cancer in real time during surgery“, published in Colorectal Disease which describes the CLASSICA project study protocol.
Congratulations, Dr Alice Moynihan, Coordinator Prof. Ronan Cahill and the team at UCD-the Mater Hospital, CLASSICA clinical partners, and the teams at Arctur and IRCAD on this achievement.
The CLASSICA team is currently undertaking a multicenter study on the application of AI in cancer surgery. This significant work is detailed in our latest publication, which comprehensively outlines the study’s protocol. This prospective, unblinded multicentre European observational study is aimed at validating the use of AI analysis of ICG fluorescence for intra-operative tissue characterisation.
Colorectal Disease, renowned for publishing pioneering research in colorectal pathology, is a premier journal globally recognised in the field of colorectal surgery. It serves as an essential resource for pathologists, oncologists, gastroenterologists, and healthcare professionals dedicated to treating diseases of the lower gastrointestinal tract.
In achieving its objectives, the CLASSICA study is set to establish the effectiveness of using ICG fluorescence for more accurate rectal tumour classification in a broad patient population. This success will demonstrate the technology’s widespread applicability and pave the way for future research, including its role in AI-assisted targeted biopsies and delineation of margins for TAMIS resections. Our ambition is to create a tool that will be utilised in ORs across Europe and beyond. CLASSICA is the first AI surgical decision support tool of its kind in Europe and has the potential to serve as a benchmark for subsequent studies into the applications of AI in surgery. Our ultimate goal is to establish CLASSICA as an essential clinical tool and to set a new precedent for AI-supported surgical decision-making tools.
Read the full text online. This open-access publication details the protocol approved by all clinical partners on 7 February 2023 and submitted to the relevant ethical committees. University College Dublin Clinical Research Centre, Ireland, is the trial sponsor.
This trial has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier NCT05793554).
Article citation: A. Moynihan et al., ‘CLASSICA: Validating artificial intelligence in classifying cancer in real time during surgery’, Colorectal Disease, no. 0, pp. 1–11, Nov. 2023, doi: 10.1111/codi.16769.