Prediction of Survival in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease: a Study Confirms the Clinical Benefit of ShearWave Elastography

• Utility of ShearWave Elastography (SWE) in predicting the survival of patients with chronic liver disease has been validated
• Establishment of a new threshold value for the stratification of the risk of mortality and for the patient management

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, July 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SuperSonic Imagine (Euronext: SSI, FR0010526814), a company specializing in medical imaging using ultrasound technology, announces that a multicenter retrospective study conducted in Europe and China, has confirmed the clinical utility of ShearWave™ Elastography in patients with chronic liver disease, the first results¹ of which were presented at the International Liver Congress (ILC 2019). The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of ShearWave Elastography (SWE) in the progression of chronic liver disease and in the development of associated complications. SWE² is an innovative imaging mode developed by SuperSonic Imagine, which enables the visualization and measurement of tissue elasticity.

“Since its creation, SuperSonic Imagine has been providing physicians with new innovations that have changed the paradigm of ultrasound practice, becoming the standard in pathways of non-invasive care. Recognizing the high diagnostic value of its biomarker in the prediction of survival, SuperSonic Imagine has taken a new step towards earlier and better-adapted patient management. This study not only confirms the expertise of SuperSonic Imagine in the evaluation of liver disease, but also the diagnostic benefits of its ultrasound innovations. To date, over 160 clinical articles have been published on the use of ShearWave Elastography in patients with liver disease,” concludes Michèle Lesieur, CEO of SuperSonic Imagine.  

The clinical value of ShearWave^TM Elastography for the prognostic evaluation of patients with chronic liver disease 

The measurement of hepatic elasticity, displayed in kilopascals (kPa), is a well-established technique for assessing the severity of fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases. This criterion has become an important parameter for determining the degree of progression of the disease. However, the value of shear-wave based elastography for predicting mortality in cirrhotic patients has hitherto remained undetermined.

“As a hepatologist, I can say that the number of patients with chronic liver disease is constantly increasing, and that it's becoming ever more vital for physicians, radiologists and hepatologists, to have reliable tools such as SWE to address this major public health problem in the most effective way. This study has allowed us to establish a new threshold value to help predict outcomes for each patient. Patients reaching more than 20.6 kPa are at two-fold higher risk of death within one year. This is important because it can be used as a biomarker to stratify care in patients with cirrhosis,” explains Professor Jonel Trebicka, University Clinic of Frankfurt, Germany.

The study conducted in 15 centers in Europe and China included 1434 patients with a median age of 55 years, 58% of whom were men. Inclusion criteria were the presence of chronic liver disease with a SWE measurement at the onset of the disease, no previous decompensation event, and at least one year of clinical follow-up after the SWE measurement (median follow-up 34.8 months).

About a year ago, SuperSonic Imagine released its new Aixplorer MACH® 30 Hepato that integrates the full range of imaging modes and is believed to represent the industry standard in hepatology with its elastography ShearWave PLUS, which allows real-time visualization and measurement of tissue stiffness. The Aixplorer MACH 30 also offers ‘B-mode Ratio’ for detecting intrahepatic steatosis, Angio PL.U.S. to provide unparalleled resolution for the imaging of microvascularisation of lesions, and also Doppler and contrast imaging, for the screening and characterization of liver nodules. Liver applications remain strategic for SuperSonic Imagine and with its new generation of UltraFast™ imaging introduced on the Aixplorer MACH 30, the company is continuing its development of new ultrasound markers for the liver.

Furthermore, the results of other multicenter studies published in several prestigious journals, such as Gastroenterology, Radiology, Hepatology and GUT, have also confirmed the superiority of the diagnostic performance of ShearWave Elastography for the non-invasive evaluation of liver fibrosis. For more information, please consult our .

About SuperSonic Imagine

SuperSonic Imagine specializes in ultrasound medical imaging. The company manufactures the flagship Aixplorer® series of products, which feature the company’s exclusive UltraFast™ technology. UltraFast™ has given rise to new imaging modes that set the standards of care for non-invasive characterization of breast, liver and prostate diseases. The first groundbreaking UltraFast™ mode developed is ShearWave™ Elastography (SWE™), which enables doctors to view and instantly analyze tissue stiffness, a vitally important factor in the diagnosis of many conditions. To date, more than 600 published articles have validated the diagnostic value of SWE. The most recent addition to the Aixplorer® range is the Aixplorer MACH® 30 ultrasound platform that introduces the next generation of UltraFast™ imaging, which optimizes the system’s innovative imaging modes: ShearWave PLUS, Doppler UltraFast™, Angio PL.U.S, TriVu and Needle PL.U.S. The company has more than 2,300 ultrasound systems installed in over 80 countries. Its main growth markets are China, the United States and the European Union (France). In 2018, the company generated a turnover of €24.6 million in 2018. SuperSonic Imagine is a company listed on Euronext (symbol: SSI).

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¹ /173580348_eu/congresos/ILC2019/aula/-SAT_133_ILC2019.pdf

² Available only on Aixplorer® ultrasound systems.