The Fibroscan is a state-of-the-art piece of technology that is used to test the stiffness of the liver. Currently the Fibroscanner is used to monitor patients which have Fatty Liver Disease, Cystic Fibrosis related Liver disease and viral Hepatitis B/C.

The Fibroscan has greatly reduced the need for biopsies in liver patients, as previously this was the only way to monitor progress of liver conditions.  In children, biopsies are always carried out using general anaesthetic, which can be distressing. With the machine follow up biopsies can be avoided and patients and families know, at each live check-up, what has happened over time.

The Fibroscan is mainly used in an outpatient setting and maps out the progress of disease over time making it possible to monitor deterioration or improvement of the condition at each clinic visit.

Liver Specialist, Indra van Mourik, tells us,

There is a lot of potential for the the Fibroscan to be used across the whole spectrum of childhood diseases.

Having access to a Fibroscan improves clinical decision-making and reduces the need for invasive procedures. Having readily available results and trends handy in an outpatient setting also improves counselling of patients and families about the stage of disease and may optimise adherence to suggested treatments.