Research News 2024
SciCom Update December 2024
Season’s Greetings from the IBUS Scientific Committee!
As 2024 comes to a close, we are thrilled to reflect on a year filled with innovation and collaboration in the world of IUS. Thanks to the IBUS-Pfizer grant, we received 25 inspiring applications, with three exceptional projects selected to drive IUS research forward. The ECCO-IBUS grant has also generated much anticipation—stay tuned as we reveal the winner soon! Our SciCom webinars were a highlight, exploring key topics like "Research Gaps in IUS" and "Advanced Technology and AI in IUS," sparking lively discussions and future possibilities.
Looking ahead, 2025 promises to be even more transformative. We’re gearing up for two new webinars, continuing our commitment to education and engagement. For the first time, IBUS will convene a consensus on IUS in special populations, setting a benchmark for clinical practice. Additionally, exciting updates are on the horizon for our Helmsley-funded studies, USE-IT and EXTENT, which are shaping the future of IUS in ways that matter most.
As we celebrate this festive season, we wish you joy and success in every aspect of your life—professionally, personally, and of course, with IUS! Let this season be a time to recharge and find inspiration for the new year. Together, let’s make 2025 a year of breakthroughs, collaboration, and shared achievements within the IUS community.
Warm wishes for a fantastic festive period and a wonderful 2025!
The IBUS Scientific Committee
SciCom Update October 2024
We have some exciting updates to share with you from SciCom! We are continually striving to advance research, innovation, and collaboration in the field of intestinal ultrasound. Read on to stay up to date with our latest activities, initiatives, and upcoming opportunities.
A Heartfelt Goodbye and a Warm Welcome
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mariangela Allocca for her dedication, enthusiasm, and numerous initiatives as IBUS SciCom Chair over the past years. Her tireless efforts have helped push SciCom forward in numerous ways, and we are thrilled that she will continue to support IBUS in her new role as IBUS Secretary on the General Board. Additionally, a warm thank you to Tom Goodsall for his engaging contributions over the past years as he steps down from the Committee.
As we say goodbye to these two wonderful contributors, we are excited to welcome Bram Verstockt as the new Chair of SciCom. We are confident that Bram will continue to lead SciCom with vision and passion.
Watch this space! We will soon be opening a call for three new seats within SciCom. This is a fantastic opportunity to join our dynamic team and help shape the future of IUS research.
Grant Opportunities: Apply Now!
Don’t miss out on two incredible grant opportunities currently open for application:
- IBUS-Pfizer Grants: Be sure to apply before the October 1st deadline, as 3 grants of €100,000 each will be awarded!
- ECCO-IBUS Grant: This year, we are thrilled to offer €40,000 in funding. The deadline for applications is November 30th.
These grants are aimed at advancing high-impact research, so if you have a project in mind, now is the time to submit your proposals.
SciComWebinar Series Launched
We are excited to announce the successful launch of the SciCom Webinar Series, with the first session covering Research Gaps in IUS - Current and Future Directions. It was a highly interactive and engaging session, with a strong turnout during the live broadcast and even more tuning in via the on-demand replay in the IBUS Library.
Our next webinar, titled "Advanced Technology and Artificial Intelligence in IUS", will take place on November 12th. The session will be led by Floris De Voogd and Michael Winter, and will feature expert speakers on topics such as elastography, CEUS, SiCUS, and artificial intelligence. Make sure to mark your calendars!
Looking ahead to 2025, we plan to continue this webinar series and welcome any suggestions for future topics of interest!
Exciting New Projects on the Horizon
SciCom is actively collaborating with the Governing Board and Operational Board on a number of new initiatives for the upcoming months. Stay tuned for updates on exciting projects for 2025, including a novel consensus that will be kicked off soon! Keep an eye out for a call from the IBUS Office inviting members to participate.
Ongoing IBUS Studies
Thanks to the generous support of The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, two major IBUS-led studies are underway:
- The USE-IT Trial: This prospective multicenter study aims to develop and validate a standardized IUS score for assessing disease activity and treatment response in Crohn’s disease. With its focus on creating a user-friendly IUS index, the trial is set to revolutionize how gastroenterologists monitor Crohn’s in real-time. The study is designed to be a non-invasive and rapid alternative to current methods like endoscopy and MRI, making disease monitoring more accessible and affordable, particularly for lower-resource settings. It also incorporates patient preferences into its validation process, recognizing the critical need for tools that are not only effective but also patient-friendly. This study holds promise for improving outcomes by enabling quicker, point-of-care adjustments to treatment plans.
- The EXTENT Study: The first stage of the EXTENT study has been successfully completed, including a three-stage Delphi consensus to define how the Lemann Index—typically used with MRI and colonoscopy—can be adapted for IUS. The next phase, a multicenter prospective trial, will assess the accuracy and feasibility of this IUS-based Lemann Index, a vital step toward integrating IUS more fully into clinical practice and future disease modification trials.
These studies are key steps toward establishing intestinal ultrasound as a cornerstone of Crohn’s disease monitoring, offering non-invasive, cost-effective, and patient-preferred alternatives to traditional methods.
Join Us!
SciCom is always looking for fresh ideas, inspiration, and new voices. We welcome your input on future projects and are currently seeking new members to join our committee. If you are passionate about advancing IUS research and innovation, we encourage you to apply - no matter where in the world you are located!
Let’s continue working together to shape the future of IUS and drive scientific excellence within IBUS.
SciCom Update March 2024
We are excited to announce that there will be two SCICOM webinars in 2024. The first will be in June on “Unmet needs and priority topics for future research”, the second in November on “Old and new technologies and their application today and tomorrow”. Keep in mind and attend in large numbers.
Furthermore, we are working to launch the first IBUS Scientific Working Group to which all IBUS members in good standing can apply. if this project is successful, they will be launched at regular intervals, so more and more members will have the opportunity to participate. For more updates, stay tuned.
A small update on Helmsley USE-IT project. Part II has been completed and the results on the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the ultrasound parameters, which are crucial for the development of the intestinal ultrasound score, will be published very soon. Part III is ongoing and 13 out of 17 centres are already active and one third of the patients have already been enrolled.
The three-year Helmsley EXTENT project has started. The objective of this project is to develop an IUS-based Lémann index (LI) to assess cumulative intestinal damage in Crohn's disease.
The first part, involving a Delphi consensus with IUS experts, ESGAR radiologists and researchers involved in the development of the LI to define damage lesions on IUS equivalent to damage lesions assessed by MRE/colonscopy, has just been completed. This will be followed by a cross-sectional study comparing LI measured with IUS and LI conventionally measured with MRE.
The working group on "The role of artificial intelligence in imaging for the diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory bowel disease: A scoping review protocol" has been concluded. The publication is online (PMID: 38081777; DOI: 10.1136/bmjgast-2023-001182).
The working groups on the gaps in the use of intestinal ultrasound in IBD to set the goals for future research in these fields is still in progress, but in the home stretch.
As always, we invite you to actively engage and be intrigued by the IBUS and SCICOM. Our commitment to promoting IUS research in IBD remains ongoing, and this year's research grant offers a further opportunity to explore innovative proposals.
Finally, stay in touch with us as we prepare to unveil the exciting developments that lie ahead. Your continued involvement is invaluable in collectively advancing the field.
Research News 2023
Finally, part IV aims to understand patient experience using depth focus groups with participants from the UK, Australia, USA, and Canada, in order to create the first patient-centered questionnaire on monitoring modalities. This questionnaire will be used in Part III as well.
Two working groups are ongoing.
The first is on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in imaging for the diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory bowel disease, to detect gaps in the current applicability of Artificial Intelligence, and to drive areas for future research. The working group is currently preparing a systematic review on the topic use of AI in IBD.
The second is working on the gaps in the use of intestinal ultrasound in IBD in order to set the goals for future research in these fields. Let by Dr. Cathy Lu in Calgary, Canada.
We would like to conclude with the wish that more and more physicians taking care of IBD patients embrace the IBUS community and continue the IBUS journey with us. As always, we strongly welcome your interest and participation in SciCom.
USE-IT Trial - Update
In the first, a consensus established relevant ultrasound parameters of activity, response, and healing. This first phase is completed!
The second phase is a reliability study in which inter- and intra-rater reliability of ultrasound parameters has been assessed. Four Centers were involved (Maaser – Lueneburg, Novak – Calgary, Nylund – Bergen, Wilkens – Copenhagen), 56 cine loops were reviewed separately from three blinded central readers, and statistical data analysis was done for the inter-rater variability. The fine tuning of the intra-rater variability is in progress, so we hope to have the final USE-IT Score by mid-May.
The third phase is going to validate the USE-IT score of activity and its responsiveness in 17 centers worldwide, and the recruitment started now. During this validation study, a total of 110 patients must be recruited. The results of the IUS examinations will be compared with the two gold standards, MRE and Colonoscopy.
To reward the efforts in patient inclusion, the top three recruiters will receive a special prize!
We are thrilled to announce a significant milestone. For the first time IBUS is called to join ECCO and ESGAR for the first Multisociety Diagnostic Consensus Guideline aiming to revise the diagnostic guideline in IBD. A lot of IBUS member applied. Unfortunately not all will be able to partecipate due to the limited numbers of the seats. However it has been a great oppurtunity and especially has confirmed that IUS has a key role in the management of IBD patients.
The Helmsley USE-IT Project, in collaboration with Alimentiv Inc., is going very well. The second part is completed and very soon the data on the reliability study will be available. Moreover, out of the planned 17 sites, six are already actively enrolling patients for part III.
The working groups on the gaps in the use of intestinal ultrasound in IBD in order to set the goals for future research in these fields is almost completed. We are targeting a spring 2024 publication date for this crucial work.
As always, we extend a wholehearted invitation for your active engagement and curiosity within SCICOM. Our commitment to fostering research in the realm of IUS in IBD remains steadfast, with this year's research grants offering yet another avenue to explore innovative proposals.
Lastly, stay connected with us as we prepare to unveil some exciting developments that lie ahead. Your continued involvement is invaluable as we collectively advance the field.
Research News 2023
SciCom Update 2023
New Scientific Committee Members:
Mariangela Allocca SCICOM CHAIR and Floris De Voogd
Our scientific committee has continued to be committed to its main goal of promoting scientific interactions in the IBUS community, which includes research collaborations between IBUS centers and providing research grants. Our recent activities have also focused on organizing workshops and establishing guidelines on the role of IUS in the management of IBD.
A multicenter project we are proud to be working on in collaboration with Alimentiv Inc. is the Helmsley USE-IT Project, which aims to develop an intestinal ultrasound score to evaluate inflammation and treatment response in Crohn’s disease.
A project led by one of our working groups is exploring the role of Artificial Intelligence in tools used to diagnose and monitor patients with IBD. Another working group is doing a workshop and systematic review on the research gaps in the use of IUS in IBD.
The committee wishes to thank Cathy Lu from Canada for her contributions and welcome the newly elected member, Floris De Voogd from the Netherlands!
Research News 2022
SciCom Update 2022
New Scientific Committee Members:
Britt Christensen, Mariangela Allocca, Tom Goodsall, Cathy Lu, Bram Verstockt, Michael Winter
Introduction on SciCom:
We have formed a fantastic new SciCom this year with a diverse membership group from around the world.
This year's first half has focused on outlining our priorities and aims. We are currently starting to work on a formal SciCom charter and developing our one and five-year plans. We are also developing official SOPs and reporting requirements for the IBUS ECCO research grant, which is currently being advertised, and we will start reviewing proposals once the deadline closes. Our team is working on a review article that aims to highlight research gaps in intestinal ultrasound. This year, we aim to develop an international study site registration and listing on the IBUS webpage. This aims to encourage more outstanding international collaboration with quality control checks in place. Going forward, we will also collaborate with the central reading interest group on the future direction of central reading in clinical trials. Finally, several of our members are part of the Helmsley project, USE-IT, that aims to develop a validated Crohn’s disease IUS score.