title: Ultrasound: Which role in body composition?
abstract: Ultrasound is a non-invasive, fast, relatively inexpensive and available tool for estimating adiposity in clinical practice, and in several research settings. It does not expose patients to ionizing radiation risks, making the method ideal for the evaluation, and for follow-up studies. Several parameters and indexes based on adipose tissue thickness have been introduced and tested, and these have been correlated with clinical and laboratoristic parameters. Moreover, ultrasound can also be directed to the estimation of adipose tissue and intracellular fat indirectly, at cellular-molecular level: an opportunity for many radiologists who already and sometimes unconsciously perform "body composition" assessment when looking at the liver, at muscle as well as at other organs. However, standardized procedure and parameters are needing to improve accuracy and reproducibility. The purposes of this review are: 1) to provide a complete overview of the most used and shared measurements of adiposity; 2) to analyze technical conditions, accuracy, and clinical meaning of ultrasound in the study of body composition; 3) to provide some elements for the use of ultrasound in the evaluation of intra-cellular lipids accumulation, in two hot spots: liver and skeletal muscle.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, The "Rizzoli" Orthopaedic Institute, Via G. C. Pupilli 1, 40136 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: abazzo@inwind.it.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bazzocchi
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, The "Rizzoli" Orthopaedic Institute, Via G. C. Pupilli 1, 40136 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Filonzi
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, The "Rizzoli" Orthopaedic Institute, Via G. C. Pupilli 1, 40136 Bologna, Italy; Department of Specialized, Diagnostic, and Experimental Medicine, University of Bologna. Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via G. Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ponti
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, The "Rizzoli" Orthopaedic Institute, Via G. C. Pupilli 1, 40136 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Ugo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Albisinni
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Foggia, Viale Luigi Pinto 1, 71100 Foggia, Italy; Department of Radiology, Scientific Institute "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza" Hospital, Viale Cappuccini 1, 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guglielmi
authors.affiliation: Department of Specialized, Diagnostic, and Experimental Medicine, University of Bologna. Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via G. Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Battista
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001823:Body Composition; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009765:Obesity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Abdomen; Metabolic disorders; Muscle; Technical aspects; Tissue characterization; Ultrasound