The LiverScan comprises of leading healthcare professionals with expertise in liver health.
Having seen the need for patients to have access to this painless and efficient liver scanning diagnostic test, LiverScan was founded by Dr. William Stack and Prof. Diarmaid Houlihan. They are delighted to bring LiverScan to locations around Ireland, so that more people and patients have easy access to a test which can potentially save lives.
Dr William (Billy) Stack
Dr William (Billy) Stack is a Consultant Gastroenterologist and Physician at the Lee Clinic and at The Bon Secours Hospital Cork. He is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medicine at University College Cork.
A UCD Med graduate, Dr. Stack trained in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at St Vincent’s University Hospital Dublin in Ireland and in the UK, at the Nottingham University Hospitals where he completed his clinical and research training with an MD thesis on gut ion transport awarded in UCD in 1997. He returned to Ireland in 1999 to become a Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at the Bons Cork. In addition to providing a general inpatient and outpatient Gastroenterology and Hepatology service, Billy has a specific interest in therapeutic upper and lower endoscopy and ERCP, which is a procedure to diagnose and treat obstructions in the bile duct due to stones or cancers. He also established the Gastrointestinal Clinic Physiology Unit at the Bon Secours Hospital in 2006.
Seeing first-hand the importance of early liver disease detection, Billy Stack has provided a Fibroscan® service at The Lee Clinic since 2019.
Prof. Diarmaid Houlihan
Prof. Diarmaid Houlihan is a Consultant Hepatologist working in the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork. He graduated from NUI Galway in 2002. After completing his postgraduate training in Ireland in 2008, he was awarded a prestigious Clinical Research Training Fellowship bursary by the Medical Research Council, UK. He joined the Liver Transplant team in the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham, UK. His funded PhD research focused on liver regeneration and during this period he examined the therapeutic potential of stem cells in a variety of different liver diseases including autoimmune liver disease, fatty liver disease and alcoholic liver disease.
He published over 80 peer review manuscripts in high impact journals over the course of his career. In 2013, he was appointed as Director of the Liver Transplant program in St Vincent’s University Hospital. He established the only dedicated Hepatocellular cancer clinic in SVUH. This has recently been designated the National Liver Cancer treatment center by NCCP. In 2014 he was among the first to be granted access to Direct Anti-Viral agents and treat patients with liver cirrhosis due to Hepatitis C. After 8 years as lead of the liver transplant program he moved back to Cork to establish practice with Dr Billy Stack in the Lee Clinic.
Rachel Crusher
A graduate of Queens Medical Centre and Nottingham University, Rachel is a highly qualified Emergency Nurse Practitioner (BSc) and Advanced Nurse Practitioner (MSc Hons). She has worked as a Staff Nurse, Sister and Emergency Nurse Practitioner in one of the UK’s busiest Trauma Centres,.
In Ireland Rachel has also worked at the Mercy University Hospital and the VHI Swiftcare Clinic in Cork, and holds a Diploma in Fitness Health and Nutrition. Having worked with Fibroscan® for over 5 years, Rachel is highly proficient in liver scanning and has extensive experience in giving appropriate healthy eating and fitness advice.
Caroline Tuite
Caroline qualified with a BSc(hons) in Radiography in London where she worked in both Guy’s and St Thomas’s hospital. She has since worked as a Senior Radiographer in Tallaght University Hospital Dublin and as Senior CT Radiographer in St James’s Hospital in Leeds. During her time in Dublin, Caroline completed a post-graduate Diploma in Nuclear Medicine from Trinity College. She also completed a post-graduate certificate in Computed Tomography from Bradford University.
On return to Ireland, Caroline has also been providing her expertise in scanning services in the Gastroenterology Dept. of the Lee Clinic in Cork for 5 years and has recently completed a QQI Level 5 Nutrition Certificate.
Equipment
Fibroscan® is an advanced medical device that utilises ultrasound and shear wave technology to assess liver health, offering a non-invasive diagnostic alternative to traditional surgical methods. It very accurately assesses the quantity of liver fat and even more importantly detects the degree of liver fibrosis (scarring ) which is the most important factor in determining outcome of chronic liver disease.
Founded in France in 2003, Fibroscan® was approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2009. Since then Fibroscan® is renowned globally for its accuracy and patient friendliness, becoming the gold standard for liver health assessments worldwide.
Locations
Lee Clinic
LiverScan is proudly partnered with the Lee Clinic Gastroenterology Department in Cork.
The Lee Clinic Gastroenterology Department (Suite 4) are specialised in preventing, diagnosing and treating digestive tract and liver disorders. The team includes consultants (Dr Billy Stack and Prof Diarmaid Houlihan) and Fibroscan® operators (Rachel and Caroline) as well as administrative support. The Clinic is also affiliated with the Bon Secours Hospital, Cork.
AMS
Advanced Medical Services (AMS) is a leading provider of onsite medical services with centres across Ireland.
GP practices
We also provide the LiverScan service at a number of GP practices across Munster. Working closely with our healthcare colleagues to bring LiverScan to locations where liver scanning provides medical insights and value for patients.
Locations