The Committee concluded that the evidence supports the case for adopting Virtual Touch Quantification (VTq) for diagnosing and monitoring liver fibrosis in people with chronic hepatitis B or C. The Committee considered that the clinical evidence demonstrated that VTq is as accurate as transient elastography for diagnosing and staging liver fibrosis and may offer additional benefits, including image‑guided assessment and a lower failure rate.
The Committee concluded that using VTq may offer particular advantages in hospitals without access to transient elastography, by providing a non‑invasive method of assessment of liver fibrosis in place of liver biopsy. This may have major benefits for people who need monitoring for fibrosis progression for whom liver biopsy may have a substantial effect on quality of life.
Based on the revised cost model and sensitivity analyses, the Committee concluded that using VTq is likely to be cost saving compared with transient elastography and liver biopsy, whether or not the purchase of a compatible Siemens ultrasound machine is needed.