Foreword

For many years I have been a partner and friend of Chinese ultrasound activities. Therefore I am honored and privileged to introduce the “Chinese Guidelines and Recommendations on the Clinical Use of Ultrasound Elastography”.

The introduction of new developments in liver elastography，such as incorporation in general ultrasound machines，and thus its more widespread availability have resulted in it gaining importance. It is worth mentioning that over the last years Guidelines and Recommendations regarding different ultrasound elastography applications have been published.The first elastography guidelines were published by the European Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology（EFSUMB）in 2013 and updated in 2017. The World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology（WFUMB）guidelines followed thereafter. For some of the recommendations reported in the previous EFSUMB and WFUMB guidelines there were few controlled trials to support the strength of evidence. Therefore，level of evidence for some recommendations have been relatively weak in comparison to its clinical value in routine practice.

The introduction of any new diagnostic or treatment tools and guidelines typically follows a pattern. New and often valuable methods are often not supported by high quality clinical trials.The Chinese Guidelines and Recommendations on the Clinical Use of Ultrasound Elastography provide a comprehensive overview of current evidence. The brand new Chinese guidelines include new predominantly Chinese data which allow adoption to the special needs of China and also express the huge knowledge and published evidence in current Chinese literature.As with the mentioned previous published guidelines this impressive Chinese cooperative project recognizes the clinical value of the use of elastography，both strain and shear wave techniques，in the evaluation of liver and other organ pathology including the thyroid，breast and musculoskeletal applications. These new and impressive guidelines should be a major reference for both beginners and experts performing elastography. As a European I admire the frequency and strength of current Chinese prospective studies dealing with all kinds of elastograph applications. Therefore，I am sure that in a short period of time we will experience more Chinese studies on elastography completing our knowledge on these fascinating new technologies.

As Past-EFSUMB President please allow me to highlight the EFSUMB Cases of the Month，which also give examples of the use of elastography. The Cases of the Month have been translated into 14 different languages including Chinese translated by Professor Xin-Wu Cui.

Cordially