STANDARDIZATION OF THE PROTOCOL FOR ATTENUATION COEFFICIENT MEASUREMENT

May 26, 2026 updated by: Gianluigi Poma, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo di Pavia

The assessment of liver fat content is important in patients suspected of or diagnosed with chronic liver disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined by the presence of hepatic fat content ≥5% of hepatocytes. NAFLD is currently the most common chronic liver disease worldwide with an estimated prevalence of 5-30% in the general population and in 55% up to 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes. New ultrasound methods for a non-invasive and quantitative assessment of the liver fat content have recently been developed. They are based on the estimation of the attenuation coefficient of the ultrasound beam.

Our group has conducted studies to evaluate the performance of the attenuation coefficient available on the Aplio i800 ultrasound system (ATI, Canon Medical Systems). The Aplio i800 ultrasound system has already a CE mark, and is available at our Ultrasound Unit for research purposes. ATI has showed a high accuracy for the quantification of liver fat, and was more accurate than the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP, FibroScan) in assessing significant steatosis. The aim of the study is therefore the optimization of the acquisition protocol of ATI measurements on the system Aplio i800, which has already a CE mark.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

35

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • Pavia
      • Pavia, Pavia, Italy, 27100
        • Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, SSD Malattie Infettive 3 - Ecografia

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy adult volunteers

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Informed consent
  • Healthy adult volunteers (> 18 years)
  • Ability to suspend respiration for image acquisition

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy
  • age < 18 years
  • Presence of ascites, acute viral hepatitis, transaminase flares, congestive heart failure, infiltrative diseases.
  • No major medical conditions and in particular no known hepatic diseases
  • Any other condition that, upon clinical judgment of the investigator, will make unacceptable the study participation for that individual subject
  • Consent withdrawal

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
evaluation of the concordance of attenuation coefficient measurements taken with different technical approaches
Time Frame: up to 3 years
Technical parameters considered are the position of the transducer, Breath-hold versus free breathing , Depth dependency, Intercostal approach vs subcostal vs left lobe, Separate acquisition of the attenuation coefficient versus simultaneous acquisition in "QUAD view" mode (stiffness / dispersion / ATI), Measurements of the attenuation coefficient using different ultrasound windows
up to 3 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
evaluation of the different parameters for measuring the attenuation coefficient determinates limits of agreement (LoA) that are larger than a pre-defined maximum allowed difference (Δ) in a Bland and Altman plot
Time Frame: up to 3 years
up to 3 years
evaluation of the results and whether they are influenced by food intake
Time Frame: up to 3 years
up to 3 years
evaluation of the results and whether they are influenced by the level of hydration
Time Frame: up to 3 years
up to 3 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo di Pavia

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 27, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 5, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

May 5, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 20, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 1, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 26, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • p_93273

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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