Benchmarking definitions of false-positive alerts during computer-aided polyp detection in colonoscopy

Background The occurrence of false-positive alerts is an important outcome measure in computer-aided colon polyp detection (CADe) studies. However, there is no consensus definition of a false positive in clinical trials evaluating CADe in colonoscopy. We aimed to study the diagnostic performance of CADe based on different threshold definitions for false-positive alerts. Methods A previously validated CADe system was applied to screening/surveillance colonoscopy videos. Different thresholds for false-positive alerts were defined based on the time an alert box was continuously traced by the system. Primary outcomes were false-positive results and specificity using different threshold definitions of false positive. Results 62 colonoscopies were analyzed. CADe specificity and accuracy were 93.2% and 97.8%, respectively, for a threshold definition of >= 0.5 seconds, 98.6% and 99.5% for a threshold definition of >= 1 second, and 99.8% and 99.9% for a threshold definition of >= 2 seconds. Conclusion Our analysis demonstrated how different threshold definitions of false positive can impact the reported diagnostic performance of CADe for colon polyp detection.

Automated summary

The study investigated the impact of different threshold definitions for false-positive alerts on the diagnostic performance of computer-aided colon polyp detection (CADe) systems. Results demonstrated that the threshold definition of false positives significantly affects the diagnostic performance of CADe.