USAT was measured by a newly developed ultrasound machine with a SC6-1U phased array probe (Mindray R9, China). The USAT examination was performed by an experienced radiologist in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, who was blind to the patients’ clinical diagnoses and CAP data. All the examinations were performed after the patients had fasted for >8 hours. To widen the intercostal space and create the appropriate scanning window for the test, the patients were positioned lying on their backs with their right upper extremity on their head. First, the B-mode ultrasound was scanned to fix a suitable position in liver segment V/VI. Second, the USAT mode was activated and the ROI was placed at a position about 5 cm below the liver capsule. A sizable, color-coded attenuation distribution map was generated automatically, in which areas with serious calculation errors (such as blood vessels and the gall bladder) were intelligently filtered out. After modifying the measurement box, which was a square with a side length of 2 cm, the operator pressed the “UPDATE” button. Third, to obtain the attenuation coefficient measurements, the best image was selected using the credibility map as per the instructions (Figure 1). Using the same chosen liver images for 5 successive measurements, the results were automatically saved in the system. The median value of the 5 measurements taken in a uniform region of the liver parenchyma and having an interquartile range/median (IQR/M) of <0.30 were defined as effective and successful USAT measurements. The USAT values are expressed in dB/cm/MHz. The USAT technology is explained in detail in the Mindray whitepaper. Abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness was defined as the vertical distance from the skin to the liver capsule on the same portion without applying pressure.