Bioacoustics Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 306 North Wright Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
Siemens Healthineers USA, 22010 South East 51st Street, Issaquah, WA, 98029, USA.
Eur Radiol. 2018 Dec;28(12):4992-5000. doi: 10.1007/s00330-018-5541-9. Epub 2018 Jun 4.
To assess inter-sonographer reproducibility of ultrasound attenuation coefficient (AC), backscatter coefficient (BSC) and shear wave speed (SWS) in adults with known/suspected non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
The institutional review board approved this HIPAA-compliant prospective study; informed consent was obtained. Participants with known/suspected NAFLD were recruited and underwent same-day liver examinations with a clinical scanner. Each participant was scanned by two of the six trained sonographers. Each sonographer performed multiple data acquisitions in the right liver lobe using a lateral intercostal approach. A data acquisition was a single operator button press that recorded a B-mode image, radio-frequency data, and the SWS value. AC and BSC were calculated from the radio-frequency data using the reference phantom method. SWS was calculated automatically using product software. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and within-subject coefficient of variation (wCV) were calculated for applicable metrics.
Sixty-one participants were recruited. Inter-sonographer ICC was 0.86 (95% confidence interval: 0.77-0.92) for AC and 0.87 (0.78-0.92) for log-transformed BSC (logBSC = 10logBSC) using one acquisition per sonographer. ICC was 0.88 (0.80-0.93) for both AC and logBSC averaging 5 acquisitions. ICC for SWS was 0.57 (0.29-0.74) using one acquisition per sonographer, and 0.84 (0.66-0.93) using 10 acquisitions. The wCV was ~7% for AC, and 19-43% for SWS, depending on number of acquisitions.
Hepatic AC, BSC and SWS measures on a clinical scanner have good inter-sonographer reproducibility in adults with known or suspected NAFLD. Multiple acquisitions are required for SWS but not AC or BSC to achieve good inter-sonographer reproducibility.
• AC, BSC and SWS measurements are reproducible in adults with NAFLD. • Inter-sonographer reproducibility of SWS measurement improves with more acquisitions being averaged. • Multiple acquisitions are required for SWS but not AC or BSC.
评估在已知/疑似非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）成人中，超声衰减系数（AC）、反向散射系数（BSC）和剪切波速度（SWS）的超声医师间可重复性。
机构审查委员会批准了这项符合 HIPAA 规定的前瞻性研究；获得了知情同意。招募了已知/疑似 NAFLD 的参与者，并在临床扫描仪上进行了同日的肝脏检查。每位参与者由六名经过培训的超声医师中的两位进行扫描。每位超声医师均采用肋间外侧入路对右肝叶进行多次数据采集。数据采集是单个操作员按钮按下，记录 B 模式图像、射频数据和 SWS 值。使用参考体模法从射频数据中计算 AC 和 BSC。使用产品软件自动计算 SWS。对于适用的指标，计算了组内相关系数（ICC）和受试者内变异系数（wCV）。
共招募了 61 名参与者。使用每位超声医师每次采集一次的方法，AC 的超声医师间 ICC 为 0.86（95%置信区间：0.77-0.92），对数转换 BSC（logBSC=10logBSC）的 ICC 为 0.87（0.78-0.92）。平均采集 5 次时，AC 和 logBSC 的 ICC 为 0.88（0.80-0.93）。每位超声医师每次采集一次时，SWS 的 ICC 为 0.57（0.29-0.74），采集 10 次时，ICC 为 0.84（0.66-0.93）。AC 的 wCV 约为 7%，而 SWS 的 wCV 为 19-43%，具体取决于采集次数。
在已知或疑似 NAFLD 的成年人中，临床扫描仪上的肝 AC、BSC 和 SWS 测量具有良好的超声医师间可重复性。为了获得良好的超声医师间可重复性，需要多次采集 SWS，但不需要多次采集 AC 或 BSC。
• AC、BSC 和 SWS 测量在 NAFLD 成人中具有可重复性。• SWS 测量的超声医师间可重复性随平均采集次数的增加而提高。• 多次采集 SWS，但不需要多次采集 AC 或 BSC。
