A device could save £434 per patient and has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Excellence (NICE).
The Virtual Touch Quantification (VTq) device, could be used for people with chronic hepatitis B or C who need liver fibrosis assessment, and save thousands of people from needing an invasive procedure, NICE said.
A device could save £434 per patient and has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Excellence (NICE).
The Virtual Touch Quantification (VTq) device, could be used for people with chronic hepatitis B or C who need liver fibrosis assessment, and save thousands of people from needing an invasive procedure, NICE said.
Using this device could mean these patients can avoid having a biopsy – where a small piece of the liver is removed for examination.
Professor Carole Longson, director of the NICE centre for health technology evaluation, said: “As well as meaning that these patients could avoid having invasive liver biopsies, the associated savings of more than £400 per person could result in significant savings in hospitals where liver biopsy is the primary method for diagnosing and monitoring liver fibrosis.”
NICE estimates that using VTq could save around £434 per patient compared with liver biopsy and around £53 per patient compared with transient elastography.
