There's a Fatty Liver Epidemic. AI Could Help Get Ahead of It

Over a billion people worldwide have livers with excess fat, which can lead to a host of medical problems. Researchers think AI tools can spot the condition--and help stop it--early enough to save lives. All over the world, a slow, insidious change is taking place in the composition of the livers of more than a billion people. While the presence of fat in a normal, healthy liver is negligible, many adults and even children have livers where fat exceeds 5 percent or even 10 percent of the organ's total weight. Its unnatural presence causes inflammation, cell damage, and the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis, all hallmarks of fatty liver disease, a condition that now impacts approximately 30 percent of adults worldwide .