Developing International Consensus and a Standardized Rating Tool for Liver Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Using SonoVue

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are conducting an international study to develop standardized quality criteria and a rating tool for contrast-enhanced ultrasound CEUS examinations of the liver, focusing on adult patients. CEUS is an important imaging method used to assess liver lesions and abnormalities, but currently lacks universally accepted standards for image quality evaluation and reproducibility. This study aims to establish consensus-based quality indicators through expert collaboration to improve standardization across clinical and research settings. The project consists of two main parts. The first part involves a structured literature review and expert discussions to create an initial list of potential quality criteria related to technical, procedural, and imaging aspects of liver CEUS exams. An international panel of experts will then participate in multiple rounds of surveys using a Delphi process to reach agreement on these criteria. In the second part, the agreed criteria will be grouped into domains and transformed into a practical rating scale for assessing CEUS image quality, which will be reviewed and refined by the expert panel. Participants in the study are experienced CEUS users who will complete several survey rounds rating the importance of proposed quality criteria on a 7-point scale. Feedback from each round will be shared anonymously to guide consensus building. The main outcome is the number of criteria achieving at least 70% agreement among experts. The final rating tool aims to support clinical practice, research, and quality assurance by enabling consistent evaluation of liver CEUS image quality worldwide. The study is expected to complete by September 2027.

International Delphi Study to Develop Standardized Quality Criteria and a Rating Tool for Liver CEUS Image Quality Assessment