Liver Fat Quantification: UDFF vs PDFF Prof. Riccardo de Robertis and Prof Mirko D’Onofrio, University of Verona, Italy

The new ultrasound derived fat fraction tool (UDFF) allows physicians to assess patient’s liver fat content in one click. This measurement can be part of the routine abdominal exam.  

The evaluation of the UDFF technic for the detection of liver steatosis using MRI proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) as the reference standard is addressed in this presentation.  

129 patients underwent ultrasound (US) exams, UDFF and MRI-PDFF measurements on the same day. A radiologist performed an ultrasound exam and 10 UDFF measurements in the right hepatic lobe; a second radiologist drew 10 regions of interest in the right hepatic lobe on the MRI-PDFF map. 

Agreement and relationships between UDFF and MRI-PDFF measurements were tested with the Bland-Altman method and the Spearman's correlation; sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of B-mode and UDFF to detect liver steatosis (MRI-PDFF ≥5,5%) were calculated.  

The excellent correlation between UDFF and MRI-PDFF shows a higher diagnostic value than B-mode ultrasound for diagnosis of liver steatosis.