The prevalence of lower digestive tract diseases is high. White light endoscopy, narrow-band imaging (NBI) and blue laser imaging (BLI) are commonly used in the diagnosis of lower digestive tract diseases, but they have some limitation in the detection of small and atypical lesions. In recent years, linked color imaging (LCI), as a unique image-enhanced endoscopic technique, has shown its unique advantages in the detection of lower digestive tract diseases, the judgment of pathological classification of colorectal polyps, and the assisted endoscopic treatment of intestinal lesions. This article reviewed the research progress of LCI in endoscopic diagnosis of lower digestive tract diseases.

Upper digestive tract diseases include Barrett's esophagus, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, Helicobacter pylori infection, gastric cancer, etc. Although white light imaging, blue laser imaging and narrow-band imaging have a certain ability to identify these upper digestive tract lesions, however, there are still some missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis of early lesions. Linked color imaging (LCI) could improve the diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity of upper digestive tract lesions through the unique color enhancement technology of endoscopic images. This article reviewed the research progress of LCI in endoscopic diagnosis of upper digestive tract lesions.