How Should Results of Nonsurgical Subcutaneous Fat Removal Be Assessed? Accuracy of B-Mode Ultrasound

BACKGROUND Nonsurgical fat reduction has become extremely popular among patients; however, a reliable method of measuring its efficacy has not been established. METHODS Ultrasound measurement of human female abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness was carried out on five volunteers. Forty-seven measurements were performed using a GE Venue 40 diagnostic ultrasound device with a 12-MHz transducer. Transducer pressure measurements were recorded simultaneously according to the protocol described by Toomey et al.. RESULTS Reproducible measurements of abdomen subcutaneous fat could be consistently achieved with a margin of error (95 percent CI) of ±0.558 mm. CONCLUSIONS Using a protocol with a transducer pressure less than 1 N (Toomey protocol) allows accurate and reliable measurement of subcutaneous fat. The authors further conclude that such a protocol is practically reproducible in the clinical setting and should be the standard for evaluating the results of nonsurgical fat removal, particularly in the abdomen. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Diagnostic, IV.