Computer-assisted histology for the diagnosis of Barrett s Esophagus

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most com- mon and in the frequency increasing diseases in the western world. In- testinal metaplasia, or Barrett s Esophagus , is a precancerous conditi- on and complication of GERD. A large interobserver variation is known in histopathology of Barrett s Esophagus. Hence, it makes sense to sup- port pathologists with an automated pre-analysis of the images. Goal of this study is the evaluation of possibilities to differentiate three types of tissue automatically, namely Barrett s Esophagus (BE), normal cardiac mucosa (CA) and normal squamous epithelium of the esophagus (EP).