Abstract
Fly Thru (Toshiba) is a novel technology which visualize surface image of the organ using volume data. It has originally developed to observe the inner structure or wall of the lumen, such as bile duct, vessels and gastrointestinal tract. In the present study, we utilized it to visualize the liver surface in 12 patients with ascites, as a unique application. Fly Thru could demonstrate the distinct difference of liver surface appearance between non-cirrhotic liver (n=4) and cirrhosis (n=8), the former with smoothly-shaped appearance and the latter with apparent irregularity. The diagnostic ability was confirmed by blind review with excellent agreement (κ1.0). Fly Thru may have a potential to diagnose diffuse liver disease non-invasively, acting as "Virtual laparoscopy".
