**Author details**

Monica Lupsor1 , Horia Stefanescu2 , Diana Feier1 and Radu Badea1

\*Address all correspondence to: monica.lupsor@umfcluj.ro

1 Medical Imaging Department, Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Prof Dr Octavian Fodor, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

2 Hepatology Department, Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Prof Dr Octavian Fodor, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Ro‐ mania

### **References**

[1] Menghini G. One-second needle biopsy of the liver. Gastroenterology 1958; 35(2): 190-199.


until now. Another important limitation is that CAP cannot be used with measurements tak‐ en from the XL probe, which is a novel probe designed to assess liver stiffness in overweight and obese patients [75,76]. Thus, CAP needs to be developed to work with the XL probe.

The possibility of concomitant assessment of liver fibrosis (using liver stiffness measure‐ ment) and of steatosis (using CAP) makes Fibroscan a promising non-invasive tool for as‐ sessing and quantifying both fibrosis and steatosis, that may broaden the spectrum of noninvasive methods used for the investigation and follow-up of patients with chronic hepatitis C. But it is important that interpretation of the liver stiffness values be done by an experi‐ enced physician and always within the clinical and biochemical context of the patient.

This material is part of the research project no 27020/ 6/ 15.11.2011, entitled "The non-inva‐ sive evaluation of fibrosis and steatosis in diffuse liver diseases by unidimensional transient elastography – Fibroscan" from "Iuliu-Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy,

, Diana Feier1

1 Medical Imaging Department, Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Prof Dr Octavian Fodor, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca,

2 Hepatology Department, Regional Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Prof Dr Octavian Fodor, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Ro‐

[1] Menghini G. One-second needle biopsy of the liver. Gastroenterology 1958; 35(2):

and Radu Badea1

**10. Conclusions**

226 Liver Biopsy – Indications, Procedures, Results

**Acknowledgments**

Cluj-Napoca.

**Author details**

Monica Lupsor1

Romania

mania

**References**

190-199.

, Horia Stefanescu2

\*Address all correspondence to: monica.lupsor@umfcluj.ro


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**Chapter 11**

**Computer Image Analysis of Liver Biopsy Specimens in**

The computer morphometry in histopathology is оnе of the most perspective directions in contemporary medicine including the hepatopathology. The potential advantages of meas‐ urement in histopathology have been recognized for many years [1]. The quantitative esti‐ mation has several advantages over conventional visual assessment such as objectivity and reproducibility [2]. The employment of modern optical equipment and special computer

At present the computer morphometry has been rather intensively used to study liver changes of the patients with chronic viral hepatitis. The quantitative assessment of the fibro‐

Many investigators considered that the quantitative evaluation of hepatic fibrosis was most‐ ly useful for assessing the origin, location and the stage of fibrosis. Using the morphometric analysis is also very important for the correct evaluation of repeated biopsies [10]. Some in‐ vestigators studied the changes in liver fibrosis after the interferon therapy [11, 12, 13]. This technique can be used in future for therapeutic trials by the estimation of the agents inhibit‐

Rates of fibrosis progression differ markedly in patients with HIV/HCV co-infection [14, 15, 16]. The natural history of hepatitis C virus infection in tuberculosis and in human immuno‐ deficiency virus-infected patients has never been studied with the use of the computer mor‐ phometric analysis of liver fibrosis progression. In this chapter the changes of liver biopsies in patients with heroin abuse and infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodefi‐

> © 2012 Tokin et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

© 2012 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

programs creates the possibilities for significant acceleration of quantitative analysis.

sis was performed mainly in chronic virus hepatitis C [3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 8, 9].

**Patients with Heroin Abuse and Coinfection**

Ivan B. Tokin, Ivan I. Tokin and Galina F. Filimonova

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

**(Tuberculosis, HCV, HIV)**

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/52971

ing the fibrosis progression [7].

**1. Introduction**

