Quantification of liver fat: A comprehensive review

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Fat accumulation in the liver (hepatic steatosis) is linked to metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues.
• Early-stage fatty liver disease is reversible, necessitating accurate detection and severity assessment for timely intervention.
• Assessing liver fat is critical for living liver donors, impacting both donor and recipient outcomes post-transplantation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current clinical and automated image analysis methods for quantifying liver fat.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of various medical imaging modalities in assessing fatty liver disease severity.
• To highlight the need for quantitative biomarkers in managing hepatic steatosis and related complications.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of diagnostic techniques for fatty liver disease.
• Analysis of clinical (medical physics-based) approaches for liver fat quantification.
• Evaluation of semi-automated and fully automated image analysis techniques using diverse imaging modalities.

Main Results:

• Liver biopsy, while the gold standard, has limitations including invasiveness and subjectivity.
• Qualitative biomarkers are often insufficient for precise fat quantification and disease staging.
• Quantitative biomarkers derived from clinical and imaging analyses offer improved accuracy for diagnosis and monitoring.

Conclusions:

• Quantitative assessment of liver fat is crucial for accurate diagnosis, staging, and monitoring of fatty liver disease.
• Automated image analysis presents a promising, non-invasive alternative to traditional methods for liver fat quantification.
• Further development of quantitative imaging biomarkers is needed for improved clinical decision-making and therapeutic evaluation in fatty liver disease.