Project description
Game-changing solution revolutionises liver disease
Chronic liver diseases have long been known as silent killers, lurking undetected until reaching untreatable stages. Among these ailments, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its sub-type, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, are the primary culprits. Left untreated, these conditions can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure, presenting a global health crisis. However, the existing method for diagnosing and staging liver diseases, namely liver biopsy, is expensive, invasive and risky. The EU-funded RADIcAL project is set to transform the landscape of liver disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Specifically, it will trial an advanced, non-invasive, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging software. This tool showcases remarkable diagnostic accuracy in early liver disease assessment and can be used for patient stratification.
Objective
Chronic liver diseases are called 'silent killers', as clinical symptoms only surface at late stages of the disease, when it is not treatable. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition defined by fat accumulation in the liver, and its sub-type non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are the major forms of liver disease. Untreated NAFLD/NASH can lead to cirrhosis and to liver failure. 450 million people worldwide suffer from fatty liver disease, which carries several health risks, and causes a huge socio-economic burden. At present, the only way of diagnosing and staging disease is with liver biopsy, which is costly, invasive, and carries some risk. Thus, clinicians are reluctant to use it for people suspected of having NAFLD/NASH. In addition, invasive biopsy is not optimal for serial assessment (e.g. monitoring transplant population for signs of liver rejection). Therefore, there is a lack of an accurate and non-invasive method of assessing liver disease and enabling treatment monitoring.
Perspectum Diagnostics Ltd (PD) has developed LiverMultiScan, a novel, non-invasive, quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging software tool that displays high diagnostic accuracy for the early assessment of liver disease, and can be used for patient stratification. It has recently obtained regulatory clearance, but it requires additional clinical validation to assure its broad market acceptance and reimbursement. Thus, RADIcAL entails two clinical trials: a) a multi-centre randomised health economic study to validate the cost-effectiveness and added value of LiverMultiScan compared to the standard care pathway for chronic liver disease; and (b) a prospective clinical trial to demonstrate the high sensitivity and specificity of LiverMultiScan as a medical support tool for stratifying patients at high risk of liver transplant rejection.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinesurgery
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineendocrinologydiabetes
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinehepatology
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imagingmagnetic resonance imaging
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutritionobesity
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
OX4 2LL Oxford
United Kingdom
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.