Measurement of intramuscular fat by muscle echo intensity

Hui-Ju Young, Nathan T Jenkins, Qun Zhao, Kevin K Mccully, Hui-Ju Young, Nathan T Jenkins, Qun Zhao, Kevin K Mccully

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare ultrasound echo intensity (EI) with high-resolution T1 -weighted MRI and to establish calibration equations to estimate percent intramuscular fat from EI.

Methods: Thirty-one participants underwent both ultrasound and MRI testing of 4 muscles: rectus femoris (RF); biceps femoris (BF); tibialis anterior (TA); and medial gastrocnemius (MG).

Results: Strong correlations were found between MRI percent fat and muscle EI after correcting for subcutaneous fat thickness (r = 0.91 in RF, r = 0.80 in BF, r = 0.80 in TA, r = 0.76 in MG). Three types of calibration equations were established.

Conclusions: Muscle ultrasound is a practical and reproducible method that can be used as an imaging technique for examination of percent intramuscular fat. Future ultrasound studies are needed to establish equations for other muscle groups to enhance its use in both research and clinical settings.

Keywords: MRI; intramuscular fat; muscle; muscle EI; muscle composition; ultrasound.

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlations between subcutaneous fat thickness and muscle echo intensity (EI). The regression equations were averaged and used to establish a correction factor for subcutaneous fat thickness.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representative T1-weighted MRI (left column) and ultrasound B-mode images (right column) demonstrate the muscle site comparability between the 2 imaging techniques. White arrows indicate the same anatomical features in the two images.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Correlations between MRI-measured percent intramuscular fat and muscle echo intensity (EI) in the 4 muscles (A1-A4). Correlations between MRI-measured percent intramuscular fat and muscle echo intensity (EI) after correcting for subcutaneous fat thickness in the 4 muscles (B1-B4). Correlations between MRI-measured percent intramuscular fat and muscle echo intensity (EI) after correcting for subcutaneous fat thickness in the 4 muscles, separated by gender (C1-C4).
Figure 4
Figure 4
A correlation graph between MRI-measured percent intramuscular fat and corrected muscle echo intensity (EI) of all four muscles.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Differences between MRI-measured percent fat and ultrasound percent fat calculated using the three types of calibration equations.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Two representative graphs showing variability of muscle EIs between two different scanning sites within a muscle (A) as well as variability of percent intramuscular fat between the three MRI slices (B).

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