Preliminary application of real-time tissue elastography in diagnosis of liver tumors

Objective To explore the imaging features of liver tumors with real-time tissue elastography.Methods Eighty-five liver lesions in 67 cases were scanned with conventional ultrasonography and elastography using HI-Vision900 system and then assessed with grade scores.Results on ultrasound were compared with those on pathology.Results Majority of lesions with grade a-b on elastography were identified as benign on pathology, while most of masses with grade c-e on elastography were confirmed as malignant on pathology.The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 93.5%, 87.0% and 91.8% for elastography to detect malignant lesions,74.2% ,73.4% and 74.1% for conventional ultrasound.The Kappa value of two doctors on elastography in group Ⅰ (the depth of the lesion ≤10cm) was significantly higher than group Ⅱ (the depth of the lesion ＞10cm).Conclusions Real-time tissue elastography of liver tumors provides a new convenient,non-invasive diagnostic methods,contribute to identify the benign and malignant live tumors. Key words: Ultrasonography;  Liver neoplasms;  Elastography