Digital liver biopsy: Bio-imaging of fatty liver for translational and clinical research

Abstract

The rapidly growing field of functional, molecular and structural bio-imaging is providing an extraordinary new opportunity to overcome the limits of invasive liver biopsy and introduce a “digital biopsy” for in vivo study of liver pathophysiology. To foster the application of bio-imaging in clinical and translational research, there is a need to standardize the methods of both acquisition and the storage of the bio-images of the liver. It can be hoped that the combination of digital, liquid and histologic liver biopsies will provide an innovative synergistic tri-dimensional approach to identifying new aetiologies, diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the optimization of personalized therapy of liver diseases and liver cancer. A group of experts of different disciplines (Special Interest Group for Personalized Hepatology of the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver, Institute for Biostructures and Bio-imaging of the National Research Council and Bio-banking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure) discussed criteria, methods and guidelines for facilitating the requisite application of data collection. This manuscript provides a multi-Author review of the issue with special focus on fatty liver.

Keywords: Biobank; Bio-imaging; Fatty liver; Genomics; Liver biopsy; Liver cancer; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; Magnetic resonance; Radiomics; Ultrasound

Core tip: The manuscript provides an extended expert review on the issue of bio-imaging of the liver with special focus on fatty liver and the need for a new integrated approach to bio-banking.