Liver Fat Quantification With Ultrasound: Depth Dependence of Attenuation Coefficient

The primary aim was to estimate the influence of various depths on ultrasound attenuation coefficient (AC) of multiple vendors in the liver. The secondary aim was to evaluate the impact of region of interest (ROI) size on AC measurements in a subset of participants.

This Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant retrospective study was carried out in two centers using AC-Canon and AC-Philips algorithms and extracting AC-Siemens values from ultrasound-derived fat fraction algorithm. Measurements were performed positioning ROI upper edge (3 cm size) at 2, 3, 4, 5 cm from the liver capsule with AC-Canon and AC-Philips and at 1.5, 2, 3 cm with Siemens algorithm. In a subset of participants, measurements were obtained with 1 and 3 cm ROI size. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models and Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) were used for statistical analysis as appropriate.

Three different cohorts were studied. Sixty-three participants (34 females; mean age: 51 ± 14 years) were studied with AC-Canon, 60 (46 females; mean age: 57 ± 11 years) with AC-Philips, and 50 (25 females; 61 ± 13 years) with AC-Siemens. There was a decrease in AC values per 1 cm increase in depth in all. In multivariable analysis, the coefficient was -0.049 (-0.060; -0.038 P < .001) with AC-Canon, -0.058 (-0.066; -0.049 P < .001) with AC-Philips and -0.081 (-0.112; -0.050 P < .001) with AC-Siemens. AC values with 1 cm ROI were significantly higher than those obtained with 3 cm ROI at all depths (P < .001) but the agreement between AC values obtained with different ROI size was excellent (CCC 0.82 [0.77-0.88]).

There is depth dependence in AC measurement that affects results. A standardized protocol with fixed ROI's depth and size is needed.