In the last decade, new ultrasound examination methods have been developed, which supports the trend of introducing minimally or completely non-invasive examination methods in the diagnosis of internal diseases. In the field of hepatology, such methods include the measurement of liver stiffness by elastography, non-invasive quantification of liver steatosis and, more recently, the evaluation of necroinflammatory changes.
All these methods lead to a change in established diagnostic procedures and, as a result, significantly reduce the need for a liver biopsy. Hepatic elastography can be further used in the diagnosis of focal liver lesions, quantification of portal hypertension or in the evaluation of therapeutic effect.