Joana  Mota Mota

Dr. Joana Mota Mota

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

3Years (2024-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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29 January 2024 in Diagnostics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
JMJoana Mota Mota
Joana Mota Mota
MAMaria João Neto de Almeida
Maria João Neto de Almeida
FMFrancisco Mendes
Francisco Mendes
MMMiguel Martins
Miguel Martins
TRTiago Ribeiro
Tiago Ribeiro
Guilherme MacedoGuilherme Macedo
Guilherme Macedo
The role of capsule endoscopy and enteroscopy in managing various small-bowel pathologies is well-established. However, their broader application has been hampered mainly by their lengthy reading times. As a result, there is a growing interest in employing artificial intelligence (AI) in these diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, driven by the prospect of overcoming some major limitations and enhancing healthcare efficiency, while maintaining high accuracy levels. In the past two decades, the applicability of AI to gastroenterology has been increasing, mainly because of the strong imaging component. Nowadays, there are a multitude of studies using AI, specifically using convolutional neural networks, that prove the potential applications of AI to these endoscopic techniques, achieving remarkable results. These findings suggest that there is ample opportunity for AI to expand its presence in the management of gastroenterology diseases and, in the future, catalyze a game-changing transformation in clinical activities. This review provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art of AI in the scope of small-bowel study, with a particular focus on capsule endoscopy and enteroscopy.

17 January 2025 in Journal of Clinical Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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Miguel Mascarenhas SaraivaMiguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
Miguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
TRTiago Ribeiro
Tiago Ribeiro
BCBelen Agudo Castillo
Belen Agudo Castillo
JAJoão Pedro Lima Afonso
João Pedro Lima Afonso
FMFrancisco Mendes
Francisco Mendes
Guilherme MacedoGuilherme Macedo
Guilherme Macedo
Background: Several artificial intelligence systems based on large language models (LLMs) have been commercially developed, with recent interest in integrating them for clinical questions. Recent versions now include image analysis capacity, but their performance in gastroenterology remains untested. This study assesses ChatGPT-4’s performance in interpreting gastroenterology images. Methods: A total of 740 images from five procedures—capsule endoscopy (CE), device-assisted enteroscopy (DAE), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), digital single-operator cholangioscopy (DSOC), and high-resolution anoscopy (HRA)—were included and analyzed by ChatGPT-4 using a predefined prompt for each. ChatGPT-4 predictions were compared to gold standard diagnoses. Statistical analyses included accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and area under the curve (AUC). Results: For CE, ChatGPT-4 demonstrated accuracies ranging from 50.0% to 90.0%, with AUCs of 0.50–0.90. For DAE, the model demonstrated an accuracy of 67.0% (AUC 0.670). For EUS, the system showed AUCs of 0.488 and 0.550 for the differentiation between pancreatic cystic and solid lesions, respectively. The LLM differentiated benign from malignant biliary strictures with an AUC of 0.550. For HRA, ChatGPT-4 showed an overall accuracy between 47.5% and 67.5%. Conclusions: ChatGPT-4 demonstrated suboptimal diagnostic accuracies for image interpretation across several gastroenterology techniques, highlighting the need for continuous improvement before clinical adoption.

19 September 2024 in Diagnostics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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JMJoana Mota Mota
Joana Mota Mota
MAMaria João Neto de Almeida
Maria João Neto de Almeida
FMFrancisco Mendes
Francisco Mendes
MMMiguel Martins
Miguel Martins
TRTiago Ribeiro
Tiago Ribeiro
Miguel Mascarenhas SaraivaMiguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
Miguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) enables a comprehensive, non-invasive, and painless evaluation of the colon, although it still has limited indications. The lengthy reading times hinder its wider implementation, a drawback that could potentially be overcome through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) models. Studies employing AI, particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs), demonstrate great promise in using CCE as a viable option for detecting certain diseases and alterations in the colon, compared to other methods like colonoscopy. Additionally, employing AI models in CCE could pave the way for a minimally invasive panenteric or even panendoscopic solution. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the current state-of-the-art of AI in CCE while also addressing the challenges, both technical and ethical, associated with broadening indications for AI-powered CCE. Additionally, it also gives a brief reflection of the potential environmental advantages of using this method compared to alternative ones.

28 March 2025 in Cancers
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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CACatarina Araujo
Catarina Araujo
JFJoana Frias
Joana Frias
FMFrancisco Mendes
Francisco Mendes
MMMiguel Martins
Miguel Martins
JMJoana Mota Mota
Joana Mota Mota
Miguel Mascarenhas SaraivaMiguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
Miguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming pancreaticobiliary endoscopy by enhancing diagnostic accuracy, procedural efficiency, and clinical outcomes. This narrative review explores AI’s applications in endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), emphasizing its potential to address diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in pancreaticobiliary diseases. In EUS, AI improves pancreatic mass differentiation, malignancy prediction, and landmark recognition, demonstrating high diagnostic accuracy and outperforming traditional guidelines. In ERCP, AI facilitates precise biliary stricture identification, optimizes procedural techniques, and supports decision-making through real-time data integration, improving ampulla recognition and predicting cannulation difficulty. Additionally, predictive analytics help mitigate complications like post-ERCP pancreatitis. The future of AI in pancreaticobiliary endoscopy lies in multimodal data fusion, integrating imaging, genomic, and molecular data to enable personalized medicine. However, challenges such as data quality, external validation, clinician training, and ethical concerns—like data privacy and algorithmic bias—must be addressed to ensure safe implementation. By overcoming these challenges, AI has the potential to redefine pancreaticobiliary healthcare, improving diagnostic accuracy, therapeutic outcomes, and personalized care.

20 October 2024 in Cancers
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Miguel Mascarenhas SaraivaMiguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
Miguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
IAInês Alencoão
Inês Alencoão
MCMaria João Carinhas
Maria João Carinhas
MMMiguel Martins
Miguel Martins
TRTiago Ribeiro
Tiago Ribeiro
RZRosa Zulmira
Rosa Zulmira
Background/Objectives: While human papillomavirus (HPV) is well known for its role in cervical cancer, it also affects vaginal cancers. Although colposcopy offers a comprehensive examination of the female genital tract, its diagnostic accuracy remains suboptimal. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) could enhance the cost-effectiveness of colposcopy, but no AI models specifically differentiate low-grade (LSILs) and high-grade (HSILs) squamous intraepithelial lesions in the vagina. This study aims to develop and validate an AI model for the differentiation of HPV-associated dysplastic lesions in this region. Methods: A convolutional neural network (CNN) model was developed to differentiate HSILs from LSILs in vaginoscopy (during colposcopy) still images. The AI model was developed on a dataset of 57,250 frames (90% training/validation [including a 5-fold cross-validation] and 10% testing) obtained from 71 procedures. The model was evaluated based on its sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC). Results: For HSIL/LSIL differentiation in the vagina, during the training/validation phase, the CNN demonstrated a mean sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 98.7% (IC95% 96.7–100.0%), 99.1% (IC95% 98.1–100.0%), and 98.9% (IC95% 97.9–99.8%), respectively. The mean AUROC was 0.990 ± 0.004. During testing phase, the sensitivity was 99.6% and 99.7% for both specificity and accuracy. Conclusions: This is the first globally developed AI model capable of HSIL/LSIL differentiation in the vaginal region, demonstrating high and robust performance metrics. Its effective application paves the way for AI-powered colposcopic assessment across the entire female genital tract, offering a significant advancement in women’s healthcare worldwide.

30 September 2024 in Journal of Clinical Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
JMJoana Mota Mota
Joana Mota Mota
MAMaria João Neto de Almeida
Maria João Neto de Almeida
MMMiguel Martins
Miguel Martins
FMFrancisco Mendes
Francisco Mendes
PCPedro Cardoso
Pedro Cardoso
Miguel Mascarenhas SaraivaMiguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
Miguel Mascarenhas Saraiva
Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative tool across several specialties, namely gastroenterology, where it has the potential to optimize both diagnosis and treatment as well as enhance patient care. Coloproctology, due to its highly prevalent pathologies and tremendous potential to cause significant mortality and morbidity, has drawn a lot of attention regarding AI applications. In fact, its application has yielded impressive outcomes in various domains, colonoscopy being one prominent example, where it aids in the detection of polyps and early signs of colorectal cancer with high accuracy and efficiency. With a less explored path but equivalent promise, AI-powered capsule endoscopy ensures accurate and time-efficient video readings, already detecting a wide spectrum of anomalies. High-resolution anoscopy is an area that has been growing in interest in recent years, with efforts being made to integrate AI. There are other areas, such as functional studies, that are currently in the early stages, but evidence is expected to emerge soon. According to the current state of research, AI is anticipated to empower gastroenterologists in the decision-making process, paving the way for a more precise approach to diagnosing and treating patients. This review aims to provide the state-of-the-art use of AI in coloproctology while also reflecting on future directions and perspectives.