"integral to"

This is a guideline for surveillance and diagnosis of BE released by the The American Society of General Surgeons

https://theasgs.org/position-statements/position-statement-on-confocal-laser-endomicroscopy/

"General surgeons are integral to the care of the GERD patient. To appropriately diagnose and treat patients there are multiple studies that are required to perform that comprehensive assessment. Cellvizio®, very clearly is integral to the comprehensive assessment of patients suffering from reflux disease. In fact, it fills a much needed diagnostic gap in patients at risk for Barrett’s esophagus and or have Barrett’s. Clinicians and patients alike need and deserve access to Cellvizio® (pCLE) in order to obtain a comprehensive assessment of the extent of disease and to make real-time therapeutic treatment decisions. Employing Cellvizio® has the additional advantage of being cost effective by potentially eliminating the need for tissue biopsies, allowing for fewer biopsies. In addition to improving diagnostic yield, Cellvizio® can also be used to map an area of Barrett’s prior to treatment and evaluate completeness of therapy upon follow-up. The position of the ASGS is supported by the Appendix and literature below."

This is the first time I have seen a recommendation like this and paves the way for more widespread use of CLE