SuperSonic Imagine, the highly innovative medical imaging company that invented ShearWave™ Elastography, has applied this revolutionary technology to liver imaging, possibly reducing the need for many biopsies. ShearWave Elastography is a non-invasive technique that is being used worldwide to visualize and quantitatively measure (in kilopascals) tissue stiffness across the different stages of fibrosis leading up to cirrhosis. As a general rule, liver stiffness increases with the severity of liver fibrosis, making it an important parameter to help physicians determine which kind of treatment is needed and when. This technique can also play an important role in monitoring therapy. ShearWave Elastography is available only on the Aixplorer ultrasound system and is the only real-time, ultrasound-imaging mode cleared by the FDA to measure and display tissue stiffness.

Liver biopsy has traditionally been considered the standard for assessing liver fibrosis severity but this invasive method has major drawbacks including significant incidence of morbidity, procedure and hospitalization costs, and clinical shortcomings as fibrosis is underestimated in 10-30% of the cases. In addition, because of the invasive nature, biopsy is not ideal for repeated follow-up exams.

With ShearWave Elastography, physicians can determine quantitative liver stiffness values in a non-invasive, easy-to-use exam, which can be safely repeated over time to follow disease progression or regression. This diagnostic information can trigger medical treatment, help to evaluate the progress and effectiveness of drug therapy, and provide regular and previously unavailable imaging monitoring for complications. When invasive procedures are called for, Aixplorer's exceptional image quality has proven highly effective in helping hepatologists and radiologists with ultrasound guided liver procedures such as needle placement for biopsy and paracentesis.
"We use ShearWave Elastography in our clinic, on a clinical basis, with around 15 to 20 procedures per week," said Dr. James Trotter, MD of Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. "ShearWave Elastography is done identically to ultrasonography so it's a very comfortable and simple exam for the patient and it takes only 30-90 seconds to perform. It gives us a qualitative and quantitative way to determine the degree of chronic liver injury our Hepatitis C patients have. We use it on a routine basis to help us make clinical decisions about how we treat patients and we think that by using this technique, we can cut down the number of biopsies by about half."

More HCB News