New Quantitative Biliary Imaging Technology Could Transform PSC Clinical Practice

Vienna, Austria, 9th April 2019. A ground-breaking quantitative biliary imaging tool, MRCP+, will be launched at the International Liver Congress. Focusing on its utility in clinical practice, new data found in MRCP+ studies of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) patients will be presented by international biliary experts, including Professor Michael Manns, Dr Kris Kowdley and Dr Gideon Hirschfield.

John Vierling, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Former President,

American Association  for the Study of   Liver Diseases, commented on the new development: “Non- invasive MRCP+ detection of both the numbers and diameters of strictures in patients with PSC has the potential to become a primary end point for therapeutic trials in PSC”.

"The ability to diagnose and monitor the progression of PSC is needed to help develop new treatments, improve methods for cancer surveillance and allow the early management of symptoms and complications of PSC. MRCP+ will provide additional information for clinicians and researchers, helping address unmet need for patients with PSC," added Martine Walmsley, Chair of Trustees for PSC Support, who will speak at the workshop.

Perspectum Diagnostics, the medical imaging company behind MRCP+, will present a series of posters at the International Liver Congress, showcasing data from its recent studies.

• FRI-068, Friday 12th April: ‘Quantitative Biliary Tree Imaging by MRI: Evaluating New Technology Across Patient Cohorts with Autoimmune Liver Disease’

MRCP+ was found to give robust measurements that could assist with objectively differentiating PSC patients, bringing to light the possibility of further investigations into quantitative MRCP as a PSC disease and therapy monitoring tool.

• FRI-069, Saturday 13th April: ‘Quantitative MRCP imaging: Preliminary observations in a cohort of paediatric patients with liver and biliary diseases.’

MRCP is especially limited in paediatric assessment, where biliary changes may be less advanced. Perspectum explored quantitative MRCP’s potential in paediatric patient evaluation, particularly those with overlapping autoimmune hepatitis and PSC. MRCP+ provided measures that could objectively differentiate patients with PSC from healthy or other liver disease patients, with the potential for monitoring and severity assessment applications.

SAT-425, Saturday 13th April: ‘Quantitative MRCP Imaging (MRCP+): Accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility evaluation in healthy and liver disease

This study, examining healthy and liver disease subjects, found that MRCP+ could provide easily interpreted, quantitative measurement and performance profile characteristics.