GE, refining fatty liver quantification…expanding ultrasound tech

Has unveiled its LOGIQ R5…with a primary focus on AI-based abdominal ultrasound automation

UGFF shows the percentage of the liver occupied by fat…core value on reducing operator variability

Aligning with the current demand for diagnostic and follow-up management amid the increasing use of obesity medicines

GE Healthcare is expanding its scope of application in the fatty liver quantification and abdominal ultrasound automation markets, showcasing its next-generation ultrasound platform.

While ultrasound-based fatty liver quantification technology has been used previously, the key distinction here is that it has been updated to report liver fat content as a percentage and reduce operator variability.

As interest in the co-management of fatty liver and metabolic diseases grows alongside weight loss due to the expanded use of obesity treatments recently, the company's strategy is to broaden the clinical role of ultrasound.

On the 12th, GE Healthcare Korea unveiled the LOGIQ R5, which applies the next-generation ultrasound platform 'R5.' Dr. Naohisa Kamiyama, Global Manager of Ultrasound New Clinical Applications at GE Healthcare, who led the development of R5, participated in the presentation and focused on the accessibility of ultrasound in liver disease diagnosis and long-term monitoring.

Fatty liver assessment, from 'detection' to 'tracking changes'

​The focus of this conference was on how far the role of ultrasound can be expanded in the evaluation of fatty liver.

Dr. Naohisa Kamiyama, Global Manager of Ultrasound New Clinical Applications at GE Healthcare

Fatty liver is not easy to detect early because early subjective symptoms are not distinct. If management is delayed, it can lead to steatohepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis, so it is important to check the degree of liver fat accumulation and track it over the long term.

This means that, beyond simply confirming the presence or absence of fatty liver, it is necessary to quantitatively assess the liver fat content to determine the disease progression stage and treatment direction.

In this process, MRI-PDFF is utilized as a major reference test for fatty liver quantification.

MRI-PDFF is a method for measuring the fat fraction in liver tissue as a percentage using MRI. While it has strengths in terms of accuracy and reproducibility, there are constraints on cost and accessibility that limit its broad use in screening or repeated follow-up management.

Dr. Kamiyama also acknowledged the role of MRI, noting that ultrasound has strengths in screening and repeated examinations.

Dr. Kamiyama said, "MRI is the most important standard in fatty liver quantification," but added, "In areas where repeated checks are necessary, such as health checkups, ultrasound may be more suitable in terms of cost and accessibility."​

In particular, the spread of obesity treatments can align with this demand for ultrasound-based quantitative evaluation. This is because, as obesity treatments are used in actual clinical settings, interest in changes in liver fat and the co-management of metabolic diseases after weight loss is growing.

This is also the background behind GE Healthcare's decision to put fatty liver quantification and abdominal automation functions at the forefront of the LOGIQ R5.

The view is that, even if MRI plays a major role in the precision evaluation of high-risk groups, ultrasound can be a tool for more frequent monitoring of patient status in screening and follow-up management.

UGFF, Presenting fatty liver status more intuitively

One of the most noteworthy technologies in the LOGIQ R5 is 'UGFF (Ultrasound-Guided Fat Fraction),' a fatty liver quantification solution that displays liver fat content as a percentage based on ultrasound.

The core is not that it started fatty liver quantification from scratch, but that it refined existing technology in a way that is easy for patients and medical staff to understand. While existing ultrasound-based technology quantifies the degree of fatty liver using attenuation coefficients and the like, UGFF shows the percentage of the liver occupied by fat.

LOGIQ R5 product photo

Park Do Hyeong, US GI/PC Segment Team Leader at GE Healthcare Korea, said, "In the case of the existing UGAP, the units might have been familiar to medical staff, but it was difficult for patients to understand intuitively." He added, "UGFF is easier to explain to patients in that it shows what percentage of the liver fat occupies."

Technologically, it is characterized by the combination of multiple acoustic parameters.

UGFF analyzes not only the ultrasound attenuation coefficient but also the integrated backscatter coefficient and signal-to-noise ratio together. When fat accumulates in the liver, the attenuation, brightness, and tissue texture of the ultrasound signal change, and UGFF quantifies the liver fat content by reflecting these changes in a complex manner.

Dr. Kamiyama said, "The prevalence of liver disease is high in the Asian region, and the clinical demand for early diagnosis and repeated monitoring is very high." He added, "UGFF is a solution developed by combining multi-acoustic parameters and statistical technology, designed to evaluate liver fat changes more precisely using only ultrasound."

Another pillar of LOGIQ R5 is AI-based automation for abdominal ultrasound. This method automatically avoids structures that should be avoided during measurement, such as blood vessels, artifacts, and focal lesions, and adjusts the measurement position during liver fat measurement.

Dr. Kamiyama stated, "Ultrasound is significantly affected by the operator and the patient's condition," and added, "We have been improving it in a direction that reduces operator dependence through automatic image optimization and measurement position correction functions."

Early launch phase, Expanding clinician awareness is the challenge

In terms of the market, the key for the LOGIQ R5 is whether the advanced fatty liver quantification function can be introduced into medical institutions.

GE Healthcare introduced the R5 in Korea in March of this year, following the LOGIQ R4, and is applying it across the LOGIQ series. Some existing equipment must be upgraded from R4 to R5 to use the new functions.

In this regard, the company's position is that, since it is still in the early stages of launch, it is necessary to raise awareness and engage in academic communication with medical staff.

In addition, as ultrasound-based fatty liver quantification is not the exclusive domain of GE Healthcare, competition is expected to intensify.

GE Healthcare is emphasizing an integrated model that combines three parameters as its point of differentiation.

YongDuk Kim, CEO of GE Healthcare Korea, stated, "The LOGIQ R5 is a next-generation ultrasound solution developed considering both the increasing number of liver disease patients and the burden of examination for medical staff," and concluded by adding, "GE Healthcare will continue to strive to support the clinical decision-making of medical staff and increase the value of the entire patient diagnosis journey."