Temporal Change Rate in Sound Velocity Caused by Ultrasonic Heating for Evaluation of Steatotic Liver

Steatotic liver diseases are increasing globally, with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis potentially causing irreversible fibrosis progression. This study focuses on an ultrasonic diagnostic method for steatotic liver disease based on temperature dependence of sound velocity for tissue characterization. Since the temperature coefficient of sound velocity in liver is expected to decrease with increasing lipid accumulation, the temperature coefficient of sound velocity in tissue-mimicking material as a function of glycerol concentration was measured. It decreased as glycerol concentration increased, changing from positive to negative value at 37.5% glycerol concentration. Change rates in sound velocity by ultrasonic heating were then measured in vitro on liver left lobes of mice with steatotic liver induced by choline-deficient, L-amino acid-defined, and high-fat diet. There were positive values in the control group, whereas there were negative values in the steatotic liver group. In vivo measurements of mouse livers using an electrocardiogram-synchronized system showed similar results, with positive values in the control group and negative values in the steatotic liver group. Thermophysical properties can determine whether the liver is normal or steatotic. However, to estimate the lipid accumulation rate from the change rate in sound velocity, it is necessary to reduce the measurement variation.