How to use contrast-enhanced ultrasound for diagnosis of liver diseases

Abstract

The liver is fed by two vessels, an artery and the portal vein. The portal vein is very important because of the nutritionally rich blood flow compared with the artery. However, the blood flow of the portal vein is easily influenced by liver diseases since the blood pressure of this important vessel is very low. To gain a better understanding, the authors evaluated changes in the micro-circulation within the liver parenchyma and the behavior of the portal vein blood flow using arrival-time parametric imaging, perfusion parametric imaging, and arterialization ratio obtained by contrast-enhanced ultrasound. We found that contrast-enhanced ultrasonographical analysis of the liver parenchymal micro-circulation and of the portal vein blood flow may be of great help for understanding what is happening within the liver parenchyma in patients with liver disease.