title: Reliability of magnetic resonance imaging measurements of the cross-sectional area of the muscle contractile and non-contractile components.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly used to study skeletal muscles patients with muscular disorders. We report an MRI technique for evaluating the trunk muscles. This technique takes both the component surface area (CSA) and the density of the muscles on MRI axial slices into account . Using a computer-based image analysis system, we combined MRI data measuring the muscle CSA, which was separated into the contractile component (CCSA) and the non-contractile component (NCCSA). The purpose of this study was to analyze the reliability of this method of measuring the CSA, CCSA and NCCSA in trunk muscles on MRI axial slices through L4 and T12.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty volunteer subjects were enrolled in this study. Two acquisitions were performed. For the reliability analyses, each of the two slices (T12 and L4) from 30 subjects was measured by three raters trained in this technique, on two occasions 2 weeks apart. Each muscle was surrounded and its CSA, NCCSA and CCSA were recorded. For each muscle, the agreement between the two sets of 30 measurements performed by three observers was evaluated by calculating an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regarding the slice through L4 and T12, the reliabilities of the measurement of CSA, CCSA were very good for all the muscles except the parietal muscles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRI measurements of the trunk muscle cross-sectional areas and of the CCSA and NCCSA are reliable.
authors: Spinal Unit, CHU Bordeaux Pellegrin, 33076 Bordeaux cedex, France. olivier.gille@chu-bordeaux.fr [corrected]
authors: Olivier
authors: O
authors: Gille
authors: Mathieu-Panchoa
authors: MP
authors: de Sèze
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Guérin
authors: Erwan
authors: E
authors: Jolivet
authors: Jean-Marc
authors: JM
authors: Vital
authors: Wafa
authors: W
authors: Skalli
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