Abstract
To date, the measurement of the stiffness of liver requires a special vibrational tool that limits its application in many hospitals. In this study, we developed a novel method for automatically assessing the elasticity of the liver without any use of contrast agents or mechanical devices. By calculating the non-rigid deformation of the liver from magnetic resonance (MR) tagging images, the stiffness was quantified as the displacement of grids on the liver image during a forced exhalation cycle. Our methods include two major processes: (1) quantification of the non-rigid deformation as the bending energy (BE) based on the thin-plate spline method in the spatial domain and (2) calculation of the difference in the power spectrum from the tagging images, by using fast Fourier transform in the frequency domain. By considering 34 cases (17 normal and 17 abnormal liver cases), a remarkable difference between the two groups was found by both methods. The elasticity of the liver was finally analyzed by combining the bending energy and power spectral features obtained through MR tagging images. The result showed that only one abnormal case was misclassified in our dataset, which implied our method for non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis has the potential to reduce the traditional liver biopsy.
Highlights
Chronic liver disease is a worldwide health problem and increases the risk of hepatic complications such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver failure [1]
The assessment of cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis highly depends on the degree of hepatic fibrosis, which is regarded as an important predictive indicator of cirrhosis [2]
As HCC is one of the most common malignancies in patients affected by these diseases [3], early detection and accurate staging of cirrhosis is an important issue in practical radiology
Summary
Chronic liver disease is a worldwide health problem and increases the risk of hepatic complications such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver failure [1]. Cirrhosis of the liver is a late stage of progressive liver disease defined as structural distortion of the entire liver by fibrosis and parenchymal nodules. The assessment of cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis highly depends on the degree of hepatic fibrosis, which is regarded as an important predictive indicator of cirrhosis [2]. As HCC is one of the most common malignancies in patients affected by these diseases [3], early detection and accurate staging of cirrhosis is an important issue in practical radiology. Fibrosis is interpreted on Computed Tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images by referring to changes in hepatic morphology, texture pattern, and the degree of liver stiffness. There is no effective treatment for decompensate or advanced cirrhosis, appropriate treatment such as interferon therapy is sometimes beneficial for early cirrhosis associated with viral hepatitis because fibrosis is potentially a reversible process in the early stages
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
