A medical clinic in Kansas is making use of a new type of scanning technology that could potentially eliminate the need for needle biopsies in patients with liver disease. Dr. Shekhar Challa and his colleagues at Kansas Medical Clinic have been using this new noninvasive method to diagnose liver diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Dr. Challa described this revolutionary device as a "game changer" that liver specialists across the globe could use to reduce the incidences of liver biopsy by up to 90% and just a few years. "This device will save lives by the letting the CD extent of damage that's already been done, and helping us to diagnose the proper treatment for what we hope will lead to an eventual recovery."
Fibro Scan utilizes a type of technology that they call Vibration Controlled Transient Elastography that can measure the extent of fibrosis in the patient's liver. Determining the "stiffness" of the liver is an important step in the diagnosis of the organ's condition and the possible extent of damage that it has already incurred. This type of equipment may also be used to assess and track the progression of liver disease as well as the degree of drug response that could health doctors get more insight regarding how certain medications are affecting the liver.
During the procedure, the patient lies back and a probe is rubbed against the indicated area and sends vibrations into the liver. Dr. Challa and his team have found that these vibrations travel faster through diseased livers, which is what makes it ideal for disease assessment. For a more accurate assessment, 10 measurements are taken from a single location. Dr. Challa says that all the data that they have collected indicate how accurate this technology is in determining cirrhosis, fibrosis, and other liver diseases.
The use of the Fibro Scan assessment has already been FDA approved.
