Application of diffusion microstructure imaging in thigh muscle

Motivation: Diffusion microstructure imaging (DMI) obtains the distribution of three microstructure compartments of each voxel[1], and more specifically understands the microstructure integrity of tissues. Goal(s): Quantitative detection of the correlation between the microstructure parameters of thigh muscle and its fat infiltration degree and its relationship with the body composition of healthy individuals. Approach: We used DMI and mDIXON quant sequences to measure microstructural parameters and fat fraction (FF) of thigh muscle in healthy individuals, and to assess the value of DMI in thigh muscle imaging. Results: DMI parameters differed significantly during aging and were significantly correlated with intramuscular FF. Impact: The change of DMI parameters is a sensitive indicator of the physiological changes of muscle fiber structure during aging, which may suggest the microstructure characteristics of local metabolic changes in the body during aging.