Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is an important technology with many advantages (non-invasive, representation of small bowel), but faces many limitations as well (time-consuming analysis, short battery lifetime, and poor image quality). Artificial intelligence (AI) holds potential to address every one of these challenges, however the progression of machine learning methods is limited by the avaibility of extensive data. We propose Galar, the most comprehensive dataset of VCE to date. Galar consists of 80 videos, culminating in 3,513,539 annotated frames covering functional, anatomical, and pathological aspects and introducing a selection of 29 distinct labels. The multisystem and multicenter VCE data from two centers in Saxony (Germany), was annotated framewise and cross-validated by five annotators. The vast scope of annotation and size of Galar make the dataset a valuable resource for the use of AI models in VCE, thereby facilitating research in diagnostic methods, patient care workflow, and the development of predictive analytics in the field.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the project SEMECO-223 A4 (03ZU1210HB)

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

For this study, no explicit patient consent was required for data sharing. The data collected were anonymized and retrospectively gathered, falling under the privilege of self-research as per Section 34, Paragraph 1 of the Saxon Hospital Act (SaechsKHG). This provision allows data processing without explicit patient consent, as long as patients are informed during their treatment about the potential use of their anonymized data for research purposes, in compliance with Articles 13 and 14 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The ethics review and approval for the entirety of this study were conducted by the Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the Technical University of Dresden (TU Dresden), Germany. The ethics committee, formally known as the Ethik-Kommission des Universitaetsklinikums Carl Gustav Carus an der Technischen Universitaet Dresden, granted approval on December 16, 2022 (Ethics ID: BO-EK-534122022), confirming that the study adheres to the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. This approval covers all ethical aspects of the study, including the waiver of consent for data sharing. Additionally, a separate privacy review by the Data Protection Officer of the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany confirmed that the anonymized data would be processed in accordance with EU GDPR regulations and national privacy laws.

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors. Data will be published and openly available upon publishing of the manuscript