Liver fibrosis commonly occurs in most types of chronic liver disease. If liver fibrosis reaches an advanced stage it can result in cirrhosis, liver failure, portal hypertension and may require liver transplantation.

The current standard examination for the assessment of liver fibrosis is liver biopsy. This is an invasive procedure, it is costly to perform, may include hospital admission and carries a small risk of severe complications. There are also questions over the accuracy of the test and the risk of sampling error.

An alternative to liver biopsy is Ultrasound Elastography (UE). UE is a non-invasive ultrasound imaging test that measures liver stiffness and by implication the level of fibrosis within the liver. This technology has the potential to help diagnose and monitor patients with liver disease and thus reduce the number and frequency of liver biopsies, reduce the number of hospital admissions, improve patient safety and reduce costs.

The NHS Technology Adoption Centre is working with Kings College NHS Foundation Trust, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust and East Cheshire NHS Trust to implement Ultrasound Elastography into the diagnostic and monitoring pathways for liver fibrosis. The Implementation Project will assess the impact of UE within these NHS settings and aims to inform NHS and Industry how maximum improvements to both care and efficiencies can be made.

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