Acute gastrointestinal bleeding: what are the issues the new millennium will resolve?

Endoscopic therapy for acute gastrointestinal bleeding remains a pivotal component of patient management. There is a need to advance the capabilities of the interventional endoscopist. Advancements include endoscope redesign, new accessories, refined portable surface and subsurface imaging technology, and an evolution of a portable-working environment into an ideal mobile procedure area. Desirable future endoscopic techniques must include suturing, localized resection, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided selective angiography with embolization of a bleeding vessel.