A robust suite of quantitative tools to assess the spectrum of liver disease, including steatosis, inflammation, and cirrhosis, on Tustin, Calif.-based Canon Medical Systems USA Inc.’s premium Aplio i800 ultrasound system has received FDA clearance. A comprehensive liver analysis suite is available on the Aplio i800, and may be helpful in the assessment of liver diseases such as steatosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and/or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which are characterized by elevated levels of fat accumulation in the liver.

Canon Medical Systems’ liver analysis suite equips clinicians with premium diagnostic imaging tools to facilitate the analysis of fatty liver disease. In addition to shear wave elastography imaging, the new suite adds attenuation imaging (ATI) and shear wave dispersion (SWD), two exclusive features that allow healthcare providers to visualize and quantify tissue attenuation and dispersion slope, which is a property related to tissue viscosity, for a more comprehensive evaluation of the liver.

In addition to the liver analysis suite, a wider range of transducers, available on the Aplio i-series platform, have also been granted FDA clearance. On top of the ultra-high frequency transducer (24 MHz), the Aplio i-series now includes a new 22 MHz hockey stick to visualize small and narrow areas such as fingers and joints or for interoperative procedures, as well as several new transducers for abdominal 3D, OB 4D, neonatal and vascular imaging.

“The incidence of both viral and fatty liver disease is growing rapidly, and the impact of liver disease, at every stage, is highly significant in the United States,” says Dan Skyba, director of the ultrasound business unit at Canon Medical Systems USA Inc. “Canon is committed to new, noninvasive imaging technologies that put innovative tools in the hands of clinicians so that they can assess liver diseases earlier, which may help improve a patient’s quality of life.”