Quantitative US for Hepatic Steatosis

Diagnostic Value of Quantitative Ultrasound Imaging Parameters for Hepatic Steatosis in Patients With Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The purpose of this study is to investigate the diagnostic performance of quantitative ultrasound imaging parameter for the assessment of hepatic steatosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease using magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) and MR spectroscopy as the reference standard.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients with clinically suspected non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), or living-donor candidates for liver transplantation, or volunteers
• Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• chronic liver disease patients (serum HBsAg positive or anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV), histologic confirmation)
• chronic alcoholics
• serum alanine transaminase (ALT)>5 times the upper limit of normal within 3 months
• previous liver surgery
• acute hepatitis or bile duct obstruction