Fiberscan

Fiberscan is a term used across several fields to describe a device or method that analyzes or images fibrous material or tissue. The exact meaning depends on context, with common usages in medicine, fiber-optic technology, and materials science.

In medicine, FibroScan (often written FibroScan) refers to a brand-name device that provides noninvasive assessment of liver stiffness. It uses transient elastography, a technique that generates a small mechanical pulse and measures the resulting shear wave with ultrasound. The speed of the wave is translated into liver stiffness values, typically reported in kilopascals, which are used to estimate the degree of fibrosis and monitor disease progression or response to therapy. FibroScan is valued for being rapid and outpatient-friendly, but results can be affected by factors such as obesity or acute inflammation, and it does not replace a full clinical evaluation.

In fiber-optic and industrial contexts, a fiberscan denotes systems that inspect, map, or test optical fibers. These can include optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) scanners to locate faults, bends, or breaks, as well as devices that measure attenuation, dispersion, or return loss along a fiber. Such scanners are used in installation, maintenance, and manufacturing to ensure fiber integrity and performance, often in handheld or automated configurations integrated into production lines.

In textiles and materials science, fiber-scanning methods may refer to microscopy or imaging approaches that characterize fiber orientation, weave structure, or microstructure within composites. These techniques support quality control, material design, and research by providing detailed, non-destructive analyses of fibrous components.