Elastography, progression factor in liver ultrasound.

Elastography is a method which, using ultrasound, obtains images and measurements of tissue elasticity when applying a force on it. As an imaging method it was developed to quantify objectively the pathological changes related to the presence of an abnormal tissue, compared to the surrounding tissues, giving information about the elasticity/stiffness of the examined tissue, the degree of fibrosis, the degree of stiffness compared to tumor free tissue. The tissue analysis can be done through a compression technology "eSie touch elasticity imaging" (with applications for the surface elastography) or ARFI technology--"acoustic radiation force imaging" (the diffusion impulse of the acoustic force). The ARFI method allows valid, accurate and flexible evaluation of liver stiffness and it is correlates with the fibrosis stage. The liver elastosonography, through new technologies available, has reached the level of the fibro-elastoscanner and magnetic resonance imaging. The ultrasound elastography application quickly advances, starting with the researches in this field. At present, it has analised the most various fields of application, from the breast, prostate, thyroid, pancreas imaging to the study of abdominal lymphnodes and peripheral vessels, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, primary and secondary liver tumors, the evaluation of uterine cervix, from cardiology to gastroenterology and urology, both in adults and in pediatrics.