Contrast-enhanced ultrasound assessment of liver blood flow for monitoring liver therapy

Abstract

A method for assessing a liver includes acquiring image information including contrast-enhanced ultrasound images of the liver. A location of the main hepatic artery (MHA) and a location of the main portal vein (MPV) of the liver are identified in at least one of the contrast-enhanced ultrasound images of the liver. Time-intensity information corresponding to perfusion of a contrast agent in the MHA and the MPV is obtained. A biomarker index value (BIV) which is a function of the time-intensity information corresponding to the perfusion of contrast agent in the MHA and the time-intensity information corresponding to the perfusion of contrast agent in the MPV is determined.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 61 / 247655, filed October 1, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference. technical field [0002] The present system relates to medical imaging systems, and more particularly to systems for assessing liver blood flow to monitor liver therapy. Background technique [0003] Currently, monitoring liver therapy with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is performed by identifying a single target liver lesion (tumor) and quantifying its blood flow and fractional blood volume. Such protocols assume that response (or lack of response) to treatment of a single target lesion represents a systemic response to treatment, but this is not a valid assumption in all cases. [0004] Accurate early assessment of treatment response is key to effective management of cancer patients and evaluation of new therapeutic compounds. Histological determination of mean intratumoral microvessel density (MVD) is the most com...

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Problems solved by technology

Moreover, such protocols assume that the response (or lack of response) to a single tumor treatment represents the systemic liver response to treatment, which may also be inaccurate

[0009] When using the above protocol in the context of oncology therapy monitoring, it is extremely challenging to compare parameter values ​​obtained at different time points during the treatment, as the operator will most likely not be able to perfectly reproduce the exact same scan plane and ROI position

Additional challenges associated with monitoring liver-targeted therapy using the above protocols include finding the same target liver lesion on all subsequent scans, which may have shrunk significantly or become invisible to CEUS

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