Application of Elastography in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Abstract

Noninvasive techniques for the evaluation of the bowel wall have developed into useful tools for managing inflammatory bowel diseases. Strain elastography and shear wave elastography, in particular, may evolve to play a major role in the assessment of disease activity in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. Clinical studies have shown the ability of elastographic techniques to discriminate between inflammatory and fibrotic tissue. Particularly, elastography can allow the evaluation of bowel strictures in the setting of Crohn’s disease and address the unmet need for noninvasive diagnostic techniques to guide medical and surgical treatments. This chapter offers a comprehensive overview of the available elastographic techniques for the assessment and management of inflammatory bowel diseases, with particular emphasis on Crohn’s disease.