Can ultrasound replace MRI for fatty liver diagnosis?
NCT ID NCT07189650
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study will test whether ultrasound can measure liver fat as accurately as MRI in 30 adults with fatty liver disease. Participants will have both an ultrasound and an MRI scan. The goal is to see if ultrasound, which is cheaper and faster, could be a reliable alternative for diagnosis.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors use ultrasound instead of MRI to measure liver fat, making diagnosis easier and cheaper.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early pilot study with only 30 people. It is exploratory, so results may not lead to immediate changes in practice.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2025
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
adult patients affected by MASLD (Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Liver Disease)
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Previous diagnosis or suspected steatosic liver disease. The diagnosis may be suspected in the presence of concomitant conditions, such as (but not limited to) obesity, type 2 diabetes, pro-atherogenic dyslipidemia (hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol), and metabolic syndrome; * Patients for whom an upper abdominal ultrasound is indicated as part of the clinical workup for the diagnosis and/or treatment of steatosic liver disease. Exclusion Criteria: * Contraindications to MRI (patients with a pacemaker, metal implants, pregnant patients, claustrophobia, physical inability to perform the exam due to constitution); * Inappropriate alcohol consumption (\>30 g/day for men and \>20 g/day for women); * Viral liver disease (HBV, HCV, HIV); * Other forms of metabolic/autoimmune/cholestatic or storage liver disease e.g., primary biliary cholangitis, sclerosing cholangitis, hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease); * History of hepatocellular carcinoma or other forms of malignancy; * Refusal to participate in the study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
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