BRC CF6: Quantitative assessment of lipids in fatty liver disease using thermoacoustic tomography

A needle biopsy remains the only reliable way to diagnose fatty liver disease, but a new imaging technique called thermoacoustic tomography could replace it with a non-invasive scan. Fatty liver disease affects roughly one in four people worldwide. In its progressive form, it scars the liver and can lead to organ failure. The current gold standard for diagnosis—a biopsy—is invasive, costly, and carries risks such as bleeding. It is also impractical for screening large populations. Existing non-invasive imaging methods lack the accuracy needed to detect the disease in its early stages, when intervention is most effective. Thermoacoustic tomography works by sending short pulses of radio waves into tissue. Fat absorbs these waves more strongly than other tissues, causing it to heat and expand slightly, producing ultrasound waves that a detector picks up. The technique is highly sensitive to fat and can generate high-resolution 3D images. In this project, researchers will test the method on excised tissue specimens, quantify the fat content in the images, and compare the results with standard histopathology. If successful, the technique could provide a safe, accurate, and scalable way to diagnose and monitor fatty liver disease without a needle—potentially transforming screening and treatment for millions of people.