Sensor to detect fatty liver disease even before they have obvious symptoms developed

Researchers have developed a diagnostic tool, based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), that could be used to detect fatty liver disease or liver fibrosis.

“Since it’s a non-invasive test, you could screen people even before they have obvious symptoms of the compromised liver, and you would be able to say which of these patients had fibrosis,” said study author Michael Cima from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.

HOW DOES THE DEVICE WORK?

The device, which is small enough to fit on a table, uses NMR to measure how water diffuses through tissue, which can reveal how much fat is present in the tissue.

This kind of diagnostic, which has thus far been tested on mice, could help doctors catch the fatty liver disease before it progresses to fibrosis, the study published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering said.

Fatty liver disease occurs when liver cells store too much fat. This leads to inflammation and eventually fibrosis, a build-up of scar tissue that can cause jaundice and liver cirrhosis, and eventually liver failure.

DIAGNOSIS OF THE LIVER FIBROSIS/FATTY LIVER

Fibrosis is usually not diagnosed until the patient begins to experience symptoms that include not only jaundice but also fatigue and abdominal swelling.

To create an easier way to check for this kind of liver disease, the research team had the idea of adapting a detector that they had previously developed to measure hydration levels before and after patients undergo dialysis.

That detector measures fluid volume in patients’ skeletal muscle by using NMR to track changes in the magnetic properties of hydrogen atoms of water in the muscle tissue.

In a study of mice, the researchers showed that their detector could identify fibrosis with 86 per cent accuracy, and fatty liver disease with 92 per cent accuracy.

RESEARCHERS ARE NOW WORKING ON IMPROVING THE DETECTOR

It takes about 10 minutes to obtain the results, but the researchers are now working on improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the detector, which could help to reduce the amount of time it takes.

The current version of the sensor can scan to a depth of about six millimeters below the skin, which is enough to monitor the mouse liver or human skeletal muscle.

The researchers are now working on designing a new version that can penetrate deeper below the tissue, to allow them to test the liver diagnosis application in human patients.

Source: | This article originally belongs to thehealthsite.com

Sensor to detect fatty liver disease even before they have obvious symptoms developed

Up next

Why am I dizzy: What causes dizziness? When is dizziness serious?

Author

shalw

Tags

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Women less likely to die of liver cirrhosis than men: Know the symptoms of this disease

Thyroid inflammation may be behind your anxiety and stress: Deal with it naturally

New two-in-one shot may help diabetics better control their blood sugar: 5 natural remedies worth trying

COVID-19 Live Updates: India sees a steep rise in positive cases as Delhi CM Kejriwal hints at lockdown extension

TOM LEONARD: Dianne Feinstein was an unrivaled female trailblazer – how shameful that cynical, self-serving Democrats who insisted on propping her up for so long tarnished her sparkling legacy

Apple admits software bug problems after some users report the new iPhone 15 overheats so badly it can’t be touched

Bradley Lowery’s heartbroken mother slams ‘low life’ football yob brothers who appeared to mock her six-year-old’s death from rare cancer – as police launch investigation

Chicago man charged over murder of cop Ella French is offered plea deal that’ll see him jailed for just SEVEN years

Sensor to detect fatty liver disease even before they have obvious symptoms developed

Up next

Author

shalw

Tags

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You May Also Like