Research News 2024
Scientific Subcommittee Update 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.
Register for the SciCom Webinar #1 here!
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
Scientific Subcommittee 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
Scientific Subcommittee 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.