qSteatosis®
Quantitative Assessment of Hepatic Steatosis
qSteatosis® is an AI-based digital pathology algorithm that provides objective, quantitative measurement of hepatic fat accumulation in liver biopsy samples. Hepatic steatosis is a core pathological feature of MASH and a key driver of downstream liver injury, inflammation, and fibrotic progression. Accurate assessment of liver fat burden is therefore essential for both disease characterization and treatment response evaluation.
By using SHG/TPEF imaging of unstained tissue the algorithm automatically detects and quantifies fat vacuoles across anatomically defined liver regions. These measurements are integrated into a continuous qSteatosis value, which can also be translated into ordinal steatosis grades (qS0–qS3) aligned with NASH CRN scoring. qSteatosis® enables sensitive detection of steatosis burden and changes over time, supporting efficacy assessment in MASH clinical trials .
qBallooning®
AI-based Ballooned Hepatocyte Detection and Quantification
qBallooning® is a digital pathology algorithm designed to identify and quantify ballooned hepatocytes, a key histological feature of MASH. Ballooned hepatocytes reflect hepatocellular injury and cellular stress, and their presence distinguishes simple steatosis from steatohepatitis, making ballooning a critical component of MASH diagnosis and disease activity assessment.
Using AI-driven analysis of SHG/TPEF images, qBallooning® generates a continuous ballooning value, which is converted into ballooning grades (qB0–qB2) using predefined thresholds. This quantitative approach reduces subjectivity associated with manual scoring and allows for robust longitudinal assessment of ballooning changes in clinical trials.
qInflammation®
Objective Insights into Liver Inflammation
qInflammation® is an algorithm specifically developed to detect portal and lobular inflammation in H&E stained liver tissue digital images. Using AI image analysis, it measures inflammatory cell infiltration and distribution in the liver, providing objective, reproducible metrics instead of relying on traditional semi-quantitative scoring.
Essentially, while qFibrosis® focuses on fibrotic remodeling, qInflammation® captures the immune-driven component of liver injury, helping to paint a complete picture of disease activity alongside qSteatosis® (fat accumulation) and qBallooning® (hepatocyte injury).