Fast, Noninvasive Assessment of Chronic Liver Disease Announced as Alternative to Biopsies
By MedImaging International staff writers Posted on 24 Nov 2015 |
A leading ultrasound imaging vendor has presented the clinical benefits of its innovative technology for noninvasive assessment of the severity of liver fibrosis, at the Liver Meeting 2015, in San Francisco (CA, USA).
Researchers have published more than 60 items on the reliability and effectiveness of the new technology. A large-scale global multicenter retrospective study that took place in April 2015, and involved 1,340 participants, confirmed the accuracy of the technology as a noninvasive alternative to biopsy for staging liver fibrosis. The study evaluated several liver diseases including chronic Hepatitis B, chronic Hepatitis C, and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
The ShearWave Elastography (SWE) technology was developed by SuperSonic Imagine (Aix-en-Provence, France). The technology involves an exam that takes 60-seconds, and provides a quantitative color-coded map that visualizes and analyzes tissue stiffness. The stiffness of liver increases as fibrosis becomes more severe, and this makes it a useful indicator for assessing the advancement of fibrosis. The standard test for assessing the severity of liver fibrosis has been biopsy, which can cause morbidity, is expensive, can result in the underestimation of fibrosis in 10%–30% of the cases, and is not ideal for repeated follow-up exams. SWE technology can significantly reduce the need for liver biopsies.
In the case of Hepatitis C patients for example, an initial assessment, a follow-up evaluation, and antiviral therapies could cure most cases of the disease, benefitting clinicians, patients, and hospitals.
Related Links:
SuperSonic Imagine
Researchers have published more than 60 items on the reliability and effectiveness of the new technology. A large-scale global multicenter retrospective study that took place in April 2015, and involved 1,340 participants, confirmed the accuracy of the technology as a noninvasive alternative to biopsy for staging liver fibrosis. The study evaluated several liver diseases including chronic Hepatitis B, chronic Hepatitis C, and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
The ShearWave Elastography (SWE) technology was developed by SuperSonic Imagine (Aix-en-Provence, France). The technology involves an exam that takes 60-seconds, and provides a quantitative color-coded map that visualizes and analyzes tissue stiffness. The stiffness of liver increases as fibrosis becomes more severe, and this makes it a useful indicator for assessing the advancement of fibrosis. The standard test for assessing the severity of liver fibrosis has been biopsy, which can cause morbidity, is expensive, can result in the underestimation of fibrosis in 10%–30% of the cases, and is not ideal for repeated follow-up exams. SWE technology can significantly reduce the need for liver biopsies.
In the case of Hepatitis C patients for example, an initial assessment, a follow-up evaluation, and antiviral therapies could cure most cases of the disease, benefitting clinicians, patients, and hospitals.
Related Links:
SuperSonic Imagine
Latest Ultrasound News
- Diagnostic System Automatically Analyzes TTE Images to Identify Congenital Heart Disease
- Super-Resolution Imaging Technique Could Improve Evaluation of Cardiac Conditions
- First AI-Powered POC Ultrasound Diagnostic Solution Helps Prioritize Cases Based On Severity
- Largest Model Trained On Echocardiography Images Assesses Heart Structure and Function
- Groundbreaking Technology Enables Precise, Automatic Measurement of Peripheral Blood Vessels
- Deep Learning Advances Super-Resolution Ultrasound Imaging
- Novel Ultrasound-Launched Targeted Nanoparticle Eliminates Biofilm and Bacterial Infection
- AI-Guided Ultrasound System Enables Rapid Assessments of DVT
- Focused Ultrasound Technique Gets Quality Assurance Protocol
- AI-Guided Handheld Ultrasound System Helps Capture Diagnostic-Quality Cardiac Images
- Non-Invasive Ultrasound Imaging Device Diagnoses Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease
- Wearable Ultrasound Platform Paves Way for 24/7 Blood Pressure Monitoring On the Wrist
- Diagnostic Ultrasound Enhancing Agent to Improve Image Quality in Pediatric Heart Patients
- AI Detects COVID-19 in Lung Ultrasound Images
- New Ultrasound Technology to Revolutionize Respiratory Disease Diagnoses
- Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Highly Useful For Interventions