Mayo Clinic Innovation Aids in Diagnosing Hepatic Fibrosis

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A new technology developed by Mayo Clinic, called MR Elastography (MRE), is showing promise in identifying hepatic fibrosis, a condition in which excessive tissue builds up in the liver and can lead to liver failure.

The technique is a Mayo-developed, minimally invasive procedure that uses an acoustic driver system to generate mechanical waves in the body, under the control of an MRI scanner. Typically, a liver biopsy requires a needle to remove a small sample of liver tissue so that doctors can assess the extent of liver damage.

Images of waves are processed with a complex mathematical algorithm, also invented by Mayo, to generate quantitative images showing tissue stiffness — called elastograms.

Alvin Silva, M.D., a co-author of the study and Director, Abdominal Imaging, at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, shared the results of the study, Diffuse Liver Disease: Virtual Palpation with MR Elastrography, at a recent scientific exhibit at the Radiological Society of North America's annual conference.

Study results indicated MRE can produce images that provide unique information and can allow reliable diagnosis of disease processes, such as liver fibrosis, without the need for an invasive biopsy.

According to Dr. Silva, "MRE is a promising non-invasive alternative to biopsy for diagnosing hepatic fibrosis. It also has the potential for discriminating the different stages of fibrosis, which is clinically important for determining initial patient management and assessing subsequent response to therapy. The ability to evaluate liver fibrosis without needle biopsy means patients can avoid the inherent risks associated with that procedure and physicians can more accurately diagnose liver disease and provide the best, personalized treatment for each patient."

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Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. As a leading academic medical center in the Southwest, Mayo Clinic focuses on providing specialty and surgical care in more than 65 disciplines at its outpatient facility in north Scottsdale and at Mayo Clinic Hospital. The 244-licensed bed hospital is located at 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard (north of Bell Road) in northeast Phoenix, and provides inpatient care to support the medical and surgical specialties of the clinic, which is located at 134th Street and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale.

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About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,700 physicians, scientists and researchers and 50,100 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn; Jacksonville, Fla; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. and community based providers in more than 70 locations in Southern Minn., Western Wis. and Northeast Iowa. These locations treat more than half a million people each year. To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and education, visit www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.