Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026
Application of Ultrasound and Shear Wave Elastography Imaging in a Rat Model of NAFLD/NASH
Published on: April 20, 2021
Assessment of liver steatosis in chicken by using acoustic radiation force impulse imaging: preliminary results
Florentina Guzmán Aroca1, Ignacio Ayala, Laura Serrano
1Department of Radiology, Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital, 30120, El Palmar, Murcia, Spain.
Objective:
To evaluate acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging as a non-invasive tool for quantification of the grades of liver steatosis in chickens.
Methods:
We used two different diets: a standard diet (SD group) and a hyperlipidaemic diet (HD group). The ARFI technique was performed in all the animals in the right hepatic lobe and shear wave velocity (SWV) was measured and expressed in metres per second (m/s). Plasma lipid levels were analysed. Steatosis was quantified by using semiquantitative analysis. Statistical analysis was used and Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated.
Results:
Mean SWV was 0.94 ± 0.16 m/s (range 0.8-1.3 m/s) in the SD group and 1.91 ± 0.25 m/s (range 1.3-2.2 m/s) in the HD group (p < 0.001). The lowest SWVs (≤1.3 m/s) corresponded to the chickens in the SD group, with 100% of the animals returning a score of 0, whereas the range of SWV in the HD group chickens was between 1.6 and 2.2 m/s. A substantial correlation was observed between SWVs with histological semiquantitative analysis of steatosis (r = 0.85, p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
ARFI imaging is a non-invasive diagnostic tool that allows discrimination between the grades of liver steatosis in chickens.
