Liver fibrosis and tissue architectural change measurement using fractal-rectified metrics and Hurst's exponent.

AIM

To provide the accurate alternative metrical means of monitoring the effects of new antiviral drugs on the reversal of newly formed collagen.

METHODS

Digitized histological biopsy sections taken from 209 patients with chronic C virus hepatitis with different grade of fibrosis or cirrhosis, were measured by means of a new, rapid, user-friendly, fully computer-aided method based on the international system meter rectified using fractal principles.

RESULTS

The following were described: geometric perimeter, area and wrinkledness of fibrosis; the collation of the Knodell, Sheuer, Ishak and METAVIR scores with fractal-rectified metric measurements; the meaning of the physical composition of fibrosis in relation to the magnitude of collagen islets; the intra- and inter-biopsy sample variability of these parameters; the"staging" of biopsy sections indicating the pathway covered by fibrosis formation towards its maximum known value; the quantitative liver tissue architectural changes with the Hurst exponent.

CONCLUSION

Our model provides the first metrical evaluations of the geometric properties of fibrosis and the quantitative architectural changes of the liver tissue. The representativeness of histological sections of the whole liver is also discussed in the light of the results obtained with the Hurst coefficient.