What is an elastography of the liver?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is expertly consulted by Master, Doctor Luu Thi Bich Ngoc - Doctor of Radiology - Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital. The doctor has 06 years of experience in the field of diagnostic imaging.

1. What is elastography of the liver?

Ultrasound is a method of using ultrasound waves with a frequency of 1-10MHZ to examine areas of the body, when the ultrasound waves pass through tissues in the body, it will record images to the image processor. Through these images to assess the medical condition. The ultrasound method is no longer a strange method to us, because it is widely applied, simple but can help diagnose diseases.
Tissue elastography is a new application of diagnostic ultrasound to investigate the elastic properties of tissues in the body.
The principle of tissue elasticity ultrasound is that it is normally difficult to measure the elasticity of the tissue directly, but the tissue will be deformed when pressed, the stiffness ratio of the tissue will be inversely proportional to deformation level. Therefore, depending on the mechanical structure, the change is different. Normal (soft) tissue will deform much with compression, while pathological tissue, which is usually stiffer, will deform less. The measured tissue contrast on the elastic map is due to the difference in tissue stiffness, coded in different colors. Tissue elastography is applied in body tissues such as liver, breast, thyroid...
Liver elastography is a form of tissue elastography, through which it helps to evaluate elasticity. of liver tissue is measured in units of kPa, thereby assessing the degree of liver fibrosis.

2. When is the liver elastography ultrasound needed?

In some cases of long-term liver disease, there is often an indication of elastography ultrasound to evaluate cirrhosis early.
Chronic viral hepatitis (hepatitis B and C viruses) Alcoholic hepatitis. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Chronic cholestatic liver disease. The patient has portal hypertension.

3. Advantages of ultrasound elastography of liver tissue

The method of elastography of liver tissue has many advantages such as:
Detecting and evaluating the degree of liver fibrosis: Early detection is an important and decisive step in treatment, monitoring the progression and prognosis of the disease. Early detection helps patients prolong life by controlling factors affecting the liver. Evaluation of mass lesions: From ultrasound of the liver elastomer, to determine the stiffness of the tissue. Through conversion to evaluate, reduce to 4 levels if score 4 is malignant, score 2.3 is suspected, consider other factors, score 1 is benign lesion. Reduce the need for biopsy: Normally, patients need a biopsy of liver tissue to determine the degree of liver fibrosis. Because this is an invasive technique, it can cause dangerous complications, especially for people with severe liver disease or underlying disease that does not allow intervention. Thanks to ultrasound of tissue elastography, it helps doctors diagnose diseases with 90% accuracy compared to biopsies doing pathology. Thereby minimizing the need for liver biopsy.

This method is performed like a routine ultrasound, so it is also an easy, non-invasive, painless technique for the patient, with high accuracy. Reasonable price for ultrasound. Some disadvantages of ultrasound elastography method such as: Difficult to measure when patients have narrow intercostal space, when patients have ascites, and in obese people, the rate of inaccuracy is often higher.

4. Steps to conduct elastography of the liver

The technique is performed as follows:
Step 1: The patient lies on his back, his right hand is placed behind his head so that the intercostal space is maximized.
Step 2: The doctor places the transducer on the intercostal skin where the liver biopsy is usually done and applies light pressure to that location. The test consists of 10 consecutive measurements on the same position. The machine will automatically calculate the average.
Step 3: Evaluate the results, the results are analyzed by the machine and given the hardness index in kPa. Based on that, we will evaluate the degree of cirrhosis divided from F0 to F4.

Tissue elastography is a newly developed technique in diagnostic imaging. Helps patients minimize the risk of having to do biopsies, invasive of the body. In addition to the application to measure the elasticity of liver tissue, it is also used in breast tissue, thyroid ... to help detect early malignancies.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital has Hepatobiliary Screening packages, which help detect Hepatitis Virus at an early stage even when there are no symptoms. In addition, the comprehensive hepatobiliary screening package helps customers:
Assess the liver's ability to work through liver enzyme tests; Evaluation of bile function; vascular nutrition; Early screening for liver cancer; Perform tests such as Total blood cell analysis, blood clotting ability, screening for hepatitis B, C Assessment of hepatobiliary status through ultrasound images and diseases that have the potential to affect liver disease/cause liver disease. more severe liver disease In-depth analysis of parameters to evaluate hepatobiliary function through laboratory, subclinical; the risk of affecting the liver and early screening for hepatobiliary cancer.

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