Quibim, a global company pioneering imaging biomarkers for precision medicine, is today announcing the launch of a new product, QP-Liver, which improves the diagnosis of diffuse liver diseases through highly accurate quantification of tissue fat and iron from MRI scans. It has been given a CE and UKCA mark for the European Union and United Kingdom respectively, meaning it is cleared to be used in those markets.
Chronic liver disease is a significant burden, causing high morbidity and mortality rates and straining medical resources. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), liver diseases account for an approximate 2 million global deaths annually. QP-Liver, which leverages Quibim’s AI models, provides a highly accurate automated liver segmentation and correlates fat and iron quantification with reference digital pathology data, allowing researchers and clinicians to leverage personalised liver disease management. This includes early detection, precise monitoring, and tailored treatment plans. The tool also reduces the need for invasive biopsies, providing solid insights for informed decisions and elevated patient care.
The platform features a post-processing solution for fat and iron quantification that performs fully automatic analyses of abdominal MRI examinations containing multi-echo chemical shift (MECSE) sequences that can precisely detect and quantify fat content. It can then generate parametric maps of fat and iron, offering detailed analysis by processing each tiny 3D element of the scan individually to generate what is known as voxel-wise resolution. This is used to generate a structured quantitative report that compares liver values with normative data.
By simultaneously quantifying iron and fat, Quibim’s tool offers comprehensive information for steatosis and iron overload evaluation, correcting confounding factors and biases inherent in conventional non-concurrent methods This allows for more precise measurements assessing disease severity and improves the quality of radiologist reports and decision-making processes within healthcare institutions. Researchers can also use QP-Liver to correlate quantification with reference digital pathology data[1], enabling comprehensive analysis.
Angel Alberich-Bayarri, Co-founder and CEO of Quibim, comments on the launch: “Coexistence of Fat and Iron in the liver is a risk factor for hepatocarcinoma and these findings need to be managed early. QP-Liver represents a significant leap forward in liver imaging analysis. By automating liver segmentation and simultaneously quantifying tissue fat and iron instead of independently, it allows for the highest accuracy and empowers clinicians to make more informed diagnoses for patients with diffuse liver diseases. We believe the tool’s impact on liver disease diagnosis is truly remarkable, and it exemplifies the intersection of cutting-edge AI, quantitative algorithms and healthcare.
“It is important to highlight that the mission to speed up real-life early detection of cancer and other diseases such as liver disease is truly an international group effort at every stage. We are acutely aware of the vital role our research, healthcare and pharmaceutical partners play in ensuring the technology gets used to treat patients, which is why getting regulatory backing for QP-Liver is such a milestone. We look forward to seeing the tool being used across the EU and in the UK in the near future.”
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