Imaging methods for analyzing body composition in human obesity and cardiometabolic disease

Abstract

Advances in the technological qualities of imaging modalities for assessing human body composition have been stimulated by accumulating evidence that individual components of body composition have significant influences on chronic disease onset, disease progression, treatment response, and health outcomes. Importantly, imaging modalities have provided a systematic method for differentiating phenotypes of body composition that diverge from what is considered normal, that is, having low bone mass (osteopenia/osteoporosis), low muscle mass (sarcopenia), high fat mass (obesity), or high fat with low muscle mass (sarcopenic obesity). Moreover, advances over the past three decades in the sensitivity and quality of imaging not just to discern the amount and distribution of adipose and lean tissue but also to differentiate layers or depots within tissues and cells is enhancing our understanding of distinct mechanistic, metabolic, and functional roles of body composition within human phenotypes. In this review, we focus on advances in imaging technologies that show great promise for future investigation of human body composition and how they are being used to address the pandemic of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.

Effects of obesity treatments on bone mineral density, bone turnover and fracture risk in adults with overweight or obesity

“…However, this technique is not widely available for bone analyses in clinical or research settings, andwhen it is available -peripheral sites such as the forearm or foreleg are more amenable to CT scanning than the traditional sites of bone analysis for the assessment of fracture risk (hip and spine) [38]. A further deterrent to the use of CT in serial analyses of human bone is the fact that with current technology, radiation exposure from a CT scan is approximately 10-fold greater than that of a DXA scan [39]. As such, there is limited research that has assessed changes in bone using CT during obesity treatments.…”

Concurrent agreement between an anthropometric model to predict thigh volume and dual-energy X-Ray absorptiometry assessment in female volleyball players aged 14-18 years

“…In general, methods have been developed with specific assumptions [2, 8, 9, 19] which limits is use to a certain group; such as males or females, general population or athletes, adults or children. At the organ and tissue level, imaging techniques such as computed axial tomography (CT) and multi-scan magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are considered the “criterion” methods in assessing body composition [20, 21]. The image quality of CT is improving [22] but, compared to exposures of 2.5 mSv of typical natural environments, the effective radiation exposure is still ~10 mSv for a full body scan [21].…”

“…At the organ and tissue level, imaging techniques such as computed axial tomography (CT) and multi-scan magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are considered the “criterion” methods in assessing body composition [20, 21]. The image quality of CT is improving [22] but, compared to exposures of 2.5 mSv of typical natural environments, the effective radiation exposure is still ~10 mSv for a full body scan [21]. MRI, although safe, requires a high technical proficiency and is not cost-effective.…”

Fat segmentation on chest CT images via fuzzy models

“…At present, fat assessment in the body is often performed via tomographic imaging either with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [5][6][7]. However, delineation of the SAT and VAT components of fat is typically performed in an interactive manner, requiring significant manual effort and time, and involving subjective assessment of the boundaries, leading to errors.…”