Performance of continuous controlled attenuation parameter and liver stiffness measurement by the novel SmartExam in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease

BACKGROUND & AIMS

FibroScan® Expert 630 and FibroScan® Mini+430 are novel vibration-controlled transient elastography devices equipped with the same SmartExam software, which allows continuous measurement of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) during the entire examination. This study aims to compare the CAP variabilities and the quantification for liver fibrosis and steatosis between the conventional FibroScan and the SmartExam-equipped machines in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

METHODS

This retrospective study included 118 patients with biopsy-proven MASLD who underwent liver biopsy at two tertiary centres between 2021 and 2023. Liver stiffness and steatosis measurements were performed using both FibroScan machines and M and XL probes for each individual. Liver histology was used as the reference standard for liver fibrosis and steatosis staging.

RESULTS

Standard deviations of continuous CAP (cCAP) were significantly lower than those of CAP for all probes (p < .0001). CAP variability was significantly associated with body mass index (p < .01), probe selection (p < .001) as well as the random effect of centre. Only the effect of probe selection (p < .001) was significantly associated with cCAP variability. No significant difference was found in the performance of staging liver fibrosis and steatosis between two types of machines at the same cut-offs.

CONCLUSIONS

The SmartExam-based VCTE reduces the variability of CAP measurement and achieves a similar accuracy as the FibroScan 502 device for the estimation of both hepatic steatosis and fibrosis. Future studies should determine if cCAP is a better tool to monitor changes in steatosis than the original CAP.