Diagnosis

The Centre's facilities incorporate an extensive range of the most advanced technology and equipment to help diagnose and treat all liver and HPB conditions. Diagnostic tests include:

• Liver ultrasound - performed in our imaging department under the care of our specialist liver radiologists
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan - used to produce detailed 3-dimensional images of the inside of the body, including any abnormal areas
• Fibroscan – a non-invasive tool to assess liver fibrosis and liver fat
• ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography) – for therapeutic bile duct and pancreatic duct interventions
• Cellvizio (a probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy system) - generates 'optical biopsies', providing real-time microscopic video images of bile duct tissue or pancreatic cysts
• CT (Computerised Tomography) scan – used to identify and stage liver tumours and damage
• MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans used to characterise liver tumours and helps to differentiate between different types of tumours
• Liver biopsy – sometimes required to determine the cause and degree of liver disease
• EUS (endoscopic ultrasound) – a special endoscope uses ultrasound to produce detailed images of the bile duct, pancreas and liver