Chinese company achieves breakthrough in liver disease detection

Wuxi Hisky Medical Technologies Co Ltd, a Chinese company leading in the development, manufacture and marketing of high-tech medical equipment for non-invasive liver diagnosis, has launched a new product series called iLivTouch which uses multichannel imaging guided transient elastography. Industry experts said this marks a breakthrough in related medical technologies and indicates a stronger presence of domestic products on the high-end medical device market.

Tissue elastography is an emerging diagnostic technique that uses ultrasound to differentiate between hard and soft tissues. It is the first breakthrough in medical ultrasound technologies for decades, according to Qian Linxue, deputy president of China Association of Medical Equipment's ultrasonic equipment and technology branch.

"In high-end medical equipment in the world, Chinese companies are followers," Qian said. "But after many years of research and development, Hisky Med has become a leader in related fields, which improves the image of the domestic medical equipment sector."

Xu Xiaoyuan, director of the infectious disease department of Peking University First Hospital, said the new non-invasive technology allows doctors to easily and accurately detect liver fibrosis and cirrhosis while traditional invasive methods are not always applicable, which is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of liver disease in China.

Jia Jidong, director of the liver disease research center under Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, said the new product can help overcome shortcomings of current clinical practice in liver disease treatment, because it is non-invasive and helps with early detection.

Chinese liver disease patients mostly suffer from viral hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver, but because such diseases have obscure early symptoms, a majority of patients are diagnosed at a late stage, when surgery and drug treatment have limited effects, he said.

Shao Jinhua, CEO of the company, said the new product is based on patented technologies the company and Tsinghua University developed together and can highly improve liver scan accuracy in a user-friendly manner.

The product is expected to enter European and US markets after launching in China.