At a Glance
| Also called | Liver stiffness test, shear-wave elastography (SWE), ARFI elastography, USG liver elastography |
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| Measures | Liver stiffness, to estimate scarring (fibrosis); results in kPa or m/s |
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| Done with | Usually an abdominal ultrasound (sonography) in the same visit |
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| Radiation, needle, injection | None |
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| Preparation | Usually about 4–6 hours without food; small sips of plain water are usually fine; our team confirms the exact preparation when you book on WhatsApp |
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| Time | The readings usually take about 10–15 minutes; about 30–40 minutes in all with the abdominal ultrasound |
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| Performed and reported by | Our radiologists, Dr. Avinash Bansal and Dr. Vaishnavi Bansal, MD (Radiology) |
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| Report | Most reports the same day, sent to your WhatsApp |
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| Price | Exact price confirmed on WhatsApp before your visit |
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| Payment | Cashless with most major insurers and TPAs; empanelled for CGHS, ECHS and MJPJAY |
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| Hours and access | Mon–Sat 8am–10pm, Sun 8am–5pm; ground floor, step-free |
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What liver elastography shows
A healthy liver is soft. When the liver is injured over months or years by fat, hepatitis B or C, alcohol or other causes, it heals by forming scar tissue (fibrosis) and becomes stiffer. Many patients call this test a fatty liver test or a liver stiffness test (Hindi: लिवर इलास्टोग्राफी, or फैटी लिवर की जाँच).
The probe sends a short push of sound energy into the liver, called an acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI). This creates tiny sideways waves called shear waves, which travel faster through a stiffer liver. Their speed is given in metres per second (m/s) or converted to kilopascals (kPa).
Fibrosis is graded from F0 (no scarring) to F4 (cirrhosis). Elastography is reliable at separating little or no scarring from advanced scarring or cirrhosis. It is less precise for the stages in between.
Elastography measures stiffness, not fat. The abdominal ultrasound done in the same visit shows fatty change and grades it as mild, moderate or severe, although very mild fat may not be visible on ultrasound. It also checks the liver surface, the spleen, the portal vein, any fluid in the abdomen (ascites) and any lump in the liver.
When doctors ask for liver elastography
Your physician, diabetologist, gastroenterologist or liver specialist may ask for it when:
- An ultrasound has shown fatty liver, especially if you also have diabetes, excess weight, high blood pressure or high cholesterol (fatty liver linked to these conditions is now called MASLD; the earlier name was NAFLD)
- Your liver enzymes (SGPT/ALT, SGOT/AST) stay raised, or a blood-test score such as FIB-4 is not in the low range
- You have long-term hepatitis B or C, before treatment and at follow-up
- Regular drinking may have affected your liver
- Known fibrosis needs to be followed up, for example after weight loss or treatment
Elastography is a planned outpatient test. Go to a hospital emergency department first if you vomit blood, pass black stools, become drowsy or confused, notice your abdomen swelling quickly, or have yellow eyes with fever, shivering or severe abdominal pain.
What can affect the reading
Scarring is not the only cause of a stiff liver. The reading can be falsely high after a meal, during a hepatitis flare or other active liver inflammation (jaundice or very high liver enzymes), when the bile ducts are blocked, when heart failure causes congestion in the liver, after recent heavy drinking, or, less often, when other substances build up in the liver. If the ultrasound shows widened bile ducts, your doctor may ask for an MRCP.
Severe obesity and narrow gaps between the ribs can make readings harder to obtain or less reliable. Please tell us if any of these apply to you, so that the radiologist can take them into account. If the readings are not reliable enough, the report will say so, and your doctor may suggest repeating the test or using another test.
How to prepare for liver elastography
The standard preparation is listed below. Our team confirms the exact preparation for you when you book on WhatsApp.
- Fasting: usually nothing to eat for about 4–6 hours beforehand. A meal can raise the reading, and fasting also keeps the gallbladder easy to see on the abdominal ultrasound. Small sips of plain water are usually fine.
- Avoid heavy exercise just before the test, and tell us if you have had alcohol in the past few days.
- Medicines: take your regular medicines as usual with a little water, unless your doctor has told you otherwise.
- Diabetes: tell us if you take insulin or diabetes tablets, so that your appointment can be planned around fasting and low blood sugar is avoided. Ask your own doctor how to adjust your medicines that morning.
- Bring your prescription, earlier ultrasound and elastography reports, liver blood tests (LFT) and hepatitis reports.
- Wear loose, two-piece clothing.
What happens during the test
You lie on your back, sometimes turned slightly to your left, with your right arm above your head to widen the gaps between your ribs. You rest quietly for a few minutes first. The radiologist puts a little gel on the probe, finds the liver on the screen and chooses an area a little below the liver surface, away from large blood vessels.
For each reading, you breathe normally and then stop breathing for a few seconds, without taking a deep breath first. You feel only light pressure from the probe. Several readings are taken, and the report gives the middle value (the median) and a measure of how consistent the readings were.
The readings usually take about 10–15 minutes. With the abdominal ultrasound, allow about 30–40 minutes in all. You can eat and carry on as normal afterwards.
Understanding your result
Lower values usually mean little or no scarring, and higher values point to more fibrosis. However, the cut-offs differ with the cause of the liver disease (fatty liver, hepatitis B or C, alcohol) and between makes of machine, and values in the middle range can be borderline, so a single number is not a diagnosis. Elastography also cannot tell what caused the liver damage. Your treating doctor reads the result together with your blood tests and history, and decides on treatment, follow-up or further tests.
Safety: no radiation, needle or injection
Liver elastography uses only ultrasound. There is no radiation, no needle and no contrast injection, so you do not need a kidney function report for it. Shear-wave elastography can usually be done even when there is some fluid around the liver.
If you are pregnant, tell us when you book. Pregnancy, especially in the later months, can itself change liver stiffness readings, so your doctor will decide whether you need the test now or whether it can wait until after delivery.
Your liver elastography at AV Scan, Dadar West
Share your prescription on WhatsApp and our team will confirm the preparation and the exact price before you come.
- Performed and reported by our radiologists, Dr. Avinash Bansal and Dr. Vaishnavi Bansal, MD (Radiology)
- Usually done in the same visit as your abdominal ultrasound, so the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts and spleen are checked together
- Blood samples for tests such as a liver function test (LFT) and hepatitis B and C can be collected at the centre on the same day
- Cashless with most major insurers and TPAs; empanelled for CGHS, ECHS and MJPJAY
- Report: most reports the same day, sent to your WhatsApp
- Open Monday to Saturday 8am–10pm and Sunday 8am–5pm
- Ground floor with step-free entry: Shilpa Apartment, Shankar Ghanekar Marg, Dadar West / Prabhadevi, near Shivaji Park and Siddhivinayak Temple
