WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — Echosens and Gastro Health announced a strategic partnership to expand the use of non-invasive liver assessment technology, aiming to improve early detection and management of metabolic liver disease across Gastro Health’s physician network.
The collaboration will integrate Echosens’ FibroScan technology into Gastro Health’s broader approach to liver and metabolic health, allowing physicians to evaluate liver stiffness and fat accumulation without invasive procedures.
Gastro Health, one of the nation’s largest gastroenterology medical groups, plans to incorporate the technology into its clinical workflows to improve patient identification, risk assessment and long-term monitoring.
“Liver health is becoming an increasingly important part of how we identify and manage patients with metabolic disease, and gastroenterologists are uniquely positioned to help lead that care,” said Alan Oliver, CEO of Gastro Health.
“As we looked to expand our approach across the organization, we felt that Echosens brings an established technology, deep clinical experience and the support needed to help us scale while maintaining a physician-led approach to how we identify, risk-stratify and manage patients,” Oliver added.
FibroScan uses vibration-controlled transient elastography to measure liver stiffness, an indicator of potential fibrosis, and controlled attenuation parameter technology to assess liver fat accumulation.
The system provides rapid results at the point of care, helping physicians evaluate patients without immediately relying on more invasive procedures such as liver biopsies.
The partnership comes as new treatments emerge for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a serious form of fatty liver disease that can lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis and other complications.
Identifying patients at risk and determining the severity of liver damage are increasingly important for treatment decisions and ongoing disease management.
“FibroScan provides a practical, evidence-based way for physicians to bring objective liver health assessment directly into the clinical setting,” said Jon Gingrich, CEO of Echosens North America.
“We are proud to partner with Gastro Health as they build a scalable, physician-led approach to liver and metabolic health,” Gingrich added.
The companies said the collaboration will combine Gastro Health’s clinical expertise, research capabilities and data analytics with Echosens’ experience in non-invasive liver assessment to improve access to testing and support more coordinated care.
FibroScan technology has been evaluated in thousands of peer-reviewed studies and is supported by clinical guidelines for assessing liver fibrosis and fat accumulation.
Dr. Jose Lavergne, medical director of clinical quality at Gastro Health, said patients with obesity, diabetes and other metabolic risk factors frequently face an increased risk of liver disease that may remain undiagnosed until later stages.
“Having access to non-invasive liver assessment within the gastroenterology setting gives physicians another important tool to identify risk earlier, educate patients and determine the most appropriate next steps,” Lavergne said.
The organizations said integrating FibroScan into routine gastroenterology care could streamline diagnosis, treatment decisions and patient monitoring while reducing the need for separate diagnostic appointments.
