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Keywords:
Image verification, Diagnostic procedure, Ultrasound, Abdomen
Authors:
L. Solbiati1, S. de Beni2, S. D'Onofrio3, L. Forzoni3; 1Busto Arsizio/IT, 2Genova/IT, 3Firenze/IT
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2016/C-1807
Aims and objectives
Evaluation of the feasibility of Real-time Fusion Imaging between liver stiffness measurements,
performed with Ultrasound (US) point Shear Wave Elastography (pSWE) and MRI imaging for diagnosis,
follow up and virtual biopsy.
pSWE delivers a quantitative measure of tissue stiffness (expressed in Shear Wave propagation velocity or deduced Young Modulus in KPa) for a small tissue sample.
pSWE is based on a perturbation and a reading phase.
Non-invasive methods such as pSWE can now be used instead of or in conjunction with liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis C,
to assess liver disease severity (fibrosis),
before therapy at a safe level of predictability.
The present work shows the technical possibilities offered by Real-time Fusion Imaging technology,
in terms of marking the liver areas where the pSWE was measured and re-using them when a biopsy,
following the first pSWE assessment,
is needed even after several months or years (in order to increase the confidence of biopsy sampling of the liver tissue area previously measured with pSWE).
The other technically relevant aspect of the present work is to show the practical possibilities offered by Real-time Fusion Imaging with a second imaging modality,
i.e.
liver MRI,
to guide the pSWE acquisitions,
in the areas supposed to be stiffer or which are considered more valuable for a proper pSWE measurement.