Grant: Project Grant

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to a broad spectrum of diseases defined by the excessive accumulation of fat in the liver secondary to other causes, including excessive alcohol use or other liver disease. The prevalence of NAFLD is estimated to be 30% in Western Populations, and is as high as 90% in obese or diabetic people. The accumulation of fat leads to inflammation, which in turns leads to more advanced disease, called fibrosis. Advanced fibrosis is not reversible and can lead to major medical problems, including primary liver cancer. This proposal is concerned with the assessment of liver health by quantitatively measuring the liver fat content, fibrosis and inflammation. We plan to obtain state-of-the-art liver images of NAFLD patients, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US). MRI imaging has been shown to quantify the percentage of fat in liver tissue, as well as the liver tissue stiffness, with higher stiffness being associated with more advanced fibrosis. We aim to show that ultrasound provides similar performance to MRI in assessing steatosis and fibrosis, and to set the stage with preliminary work to also assess inflammation. The outcome will provide more broadly accessible imaging methods to assess liver health and optimize treatment based on inexpensive ultrasound which is widely available to specialists and family physicians.