Image analysis of muscles using magnetic resonance imaging.

• Main Author: Tandi, Jesisca.
• Other Authors: Poh Chueh Loo
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Medicine::Optical instruments
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/49997
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Sarcopenia is an age-related syndrome characterized by loss of muscle mass and strength with a risk of adverse outcomes. Although sarcopenia has been highly related to decreased muscle mass, further research has been questioning the accuracy of using this characteristic as sole indicator for decreased muscle strength. Adjustment of muscle mass had been proven to be a better indicator than those not adjusted. Several studies had also shown possibilities of new indicators that could correlate with strength and function, such as fat infiltrates and intermuscular fat. In this project, analysis of muscle and fat of lower extremities using MRI volumes was performed with the aim to compare healthy and frail subjects using various parameters and to identify parameters that could differentiate frail from healthy subjects. Analysis included two areas, quantifications of muscle and fat and texture analysis of the muscle. Volumetric quantifications revealed ratio of total muscle to bone volume and fat infiltrates density of gastrocnemius might be a good indicator of frailty. Textural parameters, such as kurtosis, entropy, and grey-level nonuniformity had also been shown to be able to distinguish frail from healthy subjects. Although age-related changes in skeletal muscle structure and function are inevitable, sarcopenia is known to be preventable, and even reversible. Knowing the parameters that could differentiate frail from healthy subjects, this could be used as a measure to identify frail subjects. Thus, through early detection, adverse outcomes of sarcopenia can be reduced.