Point-of-care device for the noninvasive assessment of hepatic macrosteatosis in liver donors.

BACKGROUND: Quantification of macrosteatosis (MS) in the liver is important given that it has shown to directly correlate with adverse post-liver transplant (LT) outcomes. With advances in medical technology and an implicit understanding of pathology, noninvasive methods of quantitatively assessing MS are in various stages of development. Each of these methods is based on the physical principles of differences between a fat-laden hepatocyte and a normal one.

METHODS: In this regard, after a proof-of-concept study on a prototype for a simple, real-time, handheld device using the principle of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, this study presents an upgraded point-of-care (POC) device for the noninvasive assessment of hepatic MS in liver donors.

RESULTS: The device was validated on cohort of donor livers and showed a sensitivity (0.0021 V/% fat) and highly correlated (r = 0.9868, P < .0001) with gold-standard liver biopsy. Results showed that this upgraded POC device provides a reliable method for the noninvasive assessment of hepatic MS, which is crucial for selecting suitable donor livers for LT.

CONCLUSION: The device has the potential to be an invaluable apparatus at the hands of the organ-retrieving surgeon. It is noninvasive, portable (handheld), and economic; provides real-time readings of the percentage of MS; and can be efficaciously handled by any member of the organ-retrieving team.