Chinese Expert Consensus on the Use of Ultrasound‐Derived Fat Fraction in the Assessment of Metabolic Dysfunction‐Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (2025 Edition)

ABSTRACT Metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become one of the leading causes of chronic liver diseases in China and even globally. Early non‐invasive diagnosis and grading MASLD, along with timely intervention, are crucial for assessing the disease condition and slowing the disease progression. In recent years, non‐invasive techniques for assessing liver steatosis content based on ultrasound have attracted significant attention. The ultrasound‐derived fat fraction (UDFF) is an emerging quantitative technique for liver fat assessment using ultrasound, which calculates the percentage value of the fat content by analyzing the radiofrequency signals reflected from the liver tissue, thereby quantifying the degree of liver steatosis. UDFF has demonstrated substantial clinical potential for the evaluation of liver steatosis. However, the current application guidelines based on this technology do not yet fully meet the clinical needs. To further standardize its clinical application, institutions such as the Chinese Society of Ultrasound in Medicine of the Chinese Medical Association, the National Clinical Research Center for Aging and Medicine, and the Institute of Ultrasound Medicine and Engineering of Fudan University, together with multidisciplinary experts in ultrasound, endocrinology, radiology, and hepatology from across China have formulated this “Chinese expert consensus on the use of ultrasound‐derived fat fraction in the assessment of metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (2025 edition)” based on the latest clinical application advances of the UDFF technology. This consensus standardizes the clinical scope of application and scenarios of this technology. It optimizes the technical operation process in various aspects, including pre‐examination preparation, the operation process, quality control, the number of measurements, result presentation format, and influencing factors as well. Meanwhile, it summarizes current clinical research results, aiming to ensure the standardization of the UDFF technology in clinical applications.