New ultrasound system gives Royal Liverpool Hospital ability to do
liver elastography
24 October 2011
The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is able to carry out
strain and contrast imaging of the liver for the first time following
delivery of its third ACUSON S2000 diagnostic ultrasound system from
Siemens Healthcare.
Apart from the general ultrasound imaging applications, it is
being used to measure the stiffness of liver tissue using the
advanced Liver Tissue Analysis Package.
The liver
stiffness evaluation has been made possible via Siemens’ second
generation implementation of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI)
technology in the S2000’s Virtual Touch HD application. Using
the 4C1 transducer ARFI uses an acoustic ‘push pulse’ to provide
both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the strain properties
or stiffness of deep tissue.
With the further
addition of Siemens’ Cadence contrast agent imaging and Contrast
Quantification package, the hospital anticipates being able to
characterise focal liver lesions utilising the ultrasound scan and
contrast examination.
A non-linear imaging technique to effectively separate and
display tissue or contrast, Cadence is ideal for border and lesion
detection and characterisation. Staff at the hospital hope its use
will prevent the need for a follow up MRI or CT scan, which in turn
will speed up the patient pathway, reduce cost impact on the
hospital and radiation dose for the patient.
“We
chose the S2000 to replace our old system because of its superb
image quality and capability for performing advanced elastography,”
said Colin Griffin, Ultrasound Lead at The Royal Liverpool
University Hospital.
“Staff are already familiar and very happy with the other S2000s
we have in the department so Siemens was the logical choice
especially due to the ARFI quantification package for giving
specific values for tissue stiffness. In the future we are looking
to use the system for an internal research project to evaluate its
suitability for other types of contrast examinations.”
“It
is very pleasing that the installation of the S2000 has enabled The
Royal Liverpool University Hospital to improve the service offered
to its patients,” said Bernadette Leonard, Regional Sales and
Clinical Applications Manager for Ultrasound at Siemens Healthcare.
“Its capacity for yielding penetrating insight into complex anatomy
will enable clinicians to offer confident diagnosis on liver
lesions, plus its versatility as a general imaging system is
advantageous for various other procedures.”
The hospital
will also use the S2000 for vascular work including renal transplant
imaging, dialysis patients, DVT imaging and carotid examinations.
In addition to the 4C1, the hospital has also purchased a number of
Siemens’ other lightweight, ergonomic transducers