Lipid Microparticle-Based Phantoms Modeling Hepatic Steatosis for the Validation of Quantitative Imaging Techniques.

ABSTRACT: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) typically presents as "macrovesicular steatosis", where each hepatocyte contains a large fat vacuole (30-50 µm), indicating a more indolent form. In about 20% of cases, "microvesicular steatosis" occurs, with smaller vacuoles (1-15 µm) linked to steatohepatitis, cirrhosis progression, and increased risk of liver cancer. Emerging quantitative ultrasound (QUS) liver fat quantification (QUS-LFQ) tools measure various acoustic properties, but few methods compare techniques and imaging modalities, and the impact of fat vacuole size remains unclear. This study introduces a methodology to create ultrasound (US) phantoms that replicate fat vesicle size in MASLD. While imaging phantoms validate quantitative tools, no model currently l

SUBMITTER: Endsley C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12391621 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature