| Literature DB >> 30730923 |
Douglas E Long1, Alejandro G Villasante Tezanos2, James N Wise3, Philip A Kern4, Marcas M Bamman5, Charlotte A Peterson1, Richard A Dennis6,7.
Abstract
Reports using computed tomography (CT) to estimate thigh skeletal muscle cross-sectional area and mean muscle attenuation are often difficult to evaluate due to inconsistent methods of quantification and/or poorly described analysis methods. This CT tutorial provides step-by-step instructions in using free, NIH Image J software to quantify both muscle size and composition in the mid-thigh, which was validated against a robust commercially available software, SliceOmatic. CT scans of the mid-thigh were analyzed from 101 healthy individuals aged 65 and older. Mean cross-sectional area and mean attenuation values are presented across seven defined Hounsfield unit (HU) ranges along with the percent contribution of each region to the total mid-thigh area. Inter-software correlation coefficients ranged from R2 = 0.92-0.99 for all specific area comparisons measured using the Image J method compared to SliceOmatic. We recommend reporting individual HU ranges for all areas measured. Although HU range 0-100 includes the majority of skeletal muscle area, HU range -29 to 150 appears to be the most inclusive for quantifying total thigh muscle. Reporting all HU ranges is necessary to determine the relative contribution of each, as they may be differentially affected by age, obesity, disease, and exercise. This standardized operating procedure will facilitate consistency among investigators reporting computed tomography characteristics of the thigh on single slice images. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02308228.Entities:
Mesh:
Year: 2019 PMID: 30730923 PMCID: PMC6366874 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211629
Source DB: PubMed Journal: PLoS One ISSN: 1932-6203 Impact factor: 3.752
Fig 1Graphical representation of various Hounsfield Unit ranges used for determining fat and skeletal muscle.
Visual output from Image J when assessing fat area, very low density muscle (VLDM), low density muscle (LDM), normal density muscle (NDM), and skeletal muscle area (SKM1).
Baseline demographics and computed tomography characteristics of study subjects.
| Demographics | Females (n = 57) | Males (n = 44) | All (n = 101) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 69.5 ± 3.8 (65.0–85.6) | 71.3 ± 5.7 (64.4–91.2) | 70.2 ± 4.7 (64.4–91.2) | 0.07 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.6 ± 3.4 (18.6–33.9) | 27.0 ± 2.6 (18.7–41.6) | 26.2 ± 3.1 (18.6–41.6) | 0.03 |
| DXA Fat (%) | 39.3 ± 6.3 (25.6–50.9) | 30.4 ± 5.3 (18.7–33.9) | 35.5 ± 7.4 (18.7–50.9) | < .0001 |
| Total Area (TA) | 223.0 ± 42.1 (138.1–327.9) | 206.9 ± 27.1 (142.7–260.4) | 216.0 ± 37.1 (138.1–327.9) | 0.02 |
| Normal Density Fat Area (NDF) | 118.0 ± 37.8 (51.5–229.9) | 53.9 ± 18.6 (23.1–113.1) | 90.1 ± 44.4 (23.1–229.9) | < .0001* |
| Very Low Density Muscle (VLDM) | 7.0 ± 2.6 (2.8–16.4) | 7.8 ± 2.1 (4.2–15.4) | 7.3 ± 2.4 (2.8–16.4) | 0.07 |
| Low Density Muscle Area (LDM) | 22.3 ± 7.8 (10.2–50.1) | 29.0 ± 8.3 (17.0–53.2) | 25.2 ± 8.7 (10.2–53.2) | < .0001 |
| Normal Density Muscle Area (NDM) | 69.4 ± 13.9 (40.5–111.2) | 108.0 ± 19.1 (69.4–152.4) | 86.2 ± 25.2 (40.5–152.4) | < .0001 |
| High Density Muscle Area (HDM) | 0.3 ± 0.19 (0.07–0.92) | 0.60 ± 0.24 (0.15–1.43) | 0.40 ± 0.25 (0.07–1.43) | < .0001 |
| Very High Density Muscle Area (VHDM) | 0.08 ± 0.03 (0.04–0.18) | 0.12 ± 0.04 (0.05–0.23) | 0.1 ± 0.04 (0.04–0.23) | < .0001 |
| Bone Area | 4.6 ± 0.42 (3.7–5.6) | 5.9 ± 0.60 (4.7–7.1) | 5.1 ± 0.83 (3.7–7.1) | < .0001 |
| Skeletal Muscle Area (SKM1) | 91.7 ± 14.4 (61.0–140.0) | 137.0 ± 19.6 (94.2–170.5) | 111.4 ± 28.1 (61.0–170.5) | < .0001 |
| Skeletal Muscle Area (SKM2) | 99.0 ± 15.1 (69.4–147.9) | 145.4 ± 20.4 (99.4–181.9) | 119.2 ± 29.0 (69.4–181.9) | < .0001 |
| Total Area (TA) | -10.9 ± 18.3 (-54.6–31.9) | 41.0 ± 14.7 (2.4–75.8) | 11.7 ± 30.8 (-54.6–75.8) | < .0001 |
| Normal Density Fat (NDF) | -105.4 ± 3.9 (-118.4–98.1) | -95.6 ± 5.4 (-106.6–83.3) | -101.1 ± 6.7 (-118.4–83.3) | < .0001 |
| Very Low Density Muscle (VLDM) | -14.5 ± 0.60 (-15.6–13.2) | -14.1 ± 0.37 (-15.0–13.4) | -14.3 ± 0.54 (-15.6–13.2) | 0.0006 |
| Low Density Muscle (LDM) | 21.7 ± 0.79 (19.4–23.1) | 22.2 ± 0.56 (20.5–23.3) | 21.9 ± 0.73 (19.4–23.3) | 0.001 |
| Normal Density Muscle (NDM) | 52.9 ± 2.2 (48.1–58.6) | 53.2 ± 1.9 (48.9–57.8) | 53.0 ± 2.1 (48.1–58.6) | 0.58 |
| High Density Muscle (HDM) | 117.6 ± 4.2 (109.9–128.3) | 117.0 ± 3.1 (111.8–124.3) | 117.3 ± 3.8 (109.9–128.3) | 0.42 |
| Very High Density Muscle (VHDM) | 174.7 ± 3.2 (166.6–180.5) | 174.0 ± 3.3 (165.6–181.2) | 174.4 ± 3.2 (165.6–181.2) | 0.36 |
| Bone | 1225.6 ± 110.6 (1044.4–1725.6) | 1250.5 ± 82.3 (1101.0–1725.6) | 1236.5 ± 99.6 (1044.4–1546.7) | 0.20 |
| Skeletal Muscle (SKM1) | 45.3 ± 3.7 (33.4–52.1) | 46.6 ± 3.0 (38.6–52.8) | 45.9 ± 3.5 (33.4–52.8) | 0.08 |
| Skeletal Muscle (SKM2) | 41.4 ± 4.5 (27.2–49.8) | 43.6 ± 3.6 (33.2–50.6) | 42.3 ± 4.3 (27.2–50.6) | 0.01 |
BMI, body mass index; DXA, Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry; CT, computed tomography
# SKM1 represents the area between a HU range of 0–100 and is calculated as LDM + NDM.
+ SKM2 represents the area between a HU range of -29-150 and is calculated as VLDM + LDM + NDM + HDM.
* p < 0.05 between males and females.
Percent contribution of defined HU ranges to the overall total area of the mid-thigh.
| Defined Depot | Hounsfield Unit Range | Percent Contribution | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Density Fat (NDF) | -190 to -30 | 40.53% | 12.59–71.00% |
| Very Low Density Muscle (VLDM) | -29 to -1 | 3.41% | 1.47–7.30% |
| Low Density Muscle (LDM) | 0–34 | 11.75% | 4.80–25.23% |
| Normal Density Muscle (NDM) | 35–100 | 40.92% | 13.32–67.85% |
| High Density Muscle (HDM) | 101–150 | 0.20% | 0.04–0.88% |
| Very High Density Muscle (VHDM) | 151–199 | 0.05% | 0.02–0.16% |
| Bone | ≥200 | 2.44% | 1.35–4.46% |
HU, Hounsfield Unit
Mean (SD) CT cross-sectional area measurements between NIH Image J and Slice-O-Matic software using current methods.
| CT Mid-Thigh Cross-Sectional Area Measurement (cm2) | NIH | Slice-O-Matic | R2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Area (TA) | 219.93 (40.93) | 219.52 (40.97) | .99 |
| Normal Density Fat Area (NDF) | 97.81 (45.96) | 100.65 (45.93) | .99 |
| Very Low Density Muscle (VLDM) | 6.95 (2.33) | 5.30 (1.97) | .92 |
| Low Density Muscle Area (LDM) | 24.26 (8.58) | 23.35 (8.28) | .99 |
| Normal Density Muscle Area (NDM) | 83.84 (24.16) | 83.49 (24.21) | .99 |
| Skeletal Muscle Area (SKM1) | 108.10 (26.90) | 106.84 (26.27) | .99 |
| High Density Muscle Area (HDM) | 0.39 (0.22) | 0.39 (0.22) | .99 |
| Skeletal Muscle Area (SKM2) | 115.44 (27.99) | 112.53 (26.87) | .99 |
| Very High Density Muscle Area (VHDM) | 0.10 (0.04) | 0.10 (0.04) | .99 |
Bone was not included due to technical differences in analysis. Image J data excludes bone marrow while SliceOmatic data includes marrow as bone area and edits overlapping densities between skin, muscle, and fat.
Fig 2Bland-Altman plots of the individual subject differences between softwares for various cross sectional areas.