Computed tomographic evaluation of abdominal fat in minipigs

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Imaging
• Comparative Anatomy
• Metabolic Research

Background:

• Accurate quantification of abdominal adipose tissue is crucial for metabolic research.
• Computed tomography (CT) offers detailed visualization of visceral and subcutaneous fat depots.
• Establishing reliable landmarks for abdominal fat assessment in animal models is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine abdominal fat distribution using CT-based Hounsfield Units (HU) in minipigs.
• To measure visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat volumes and correlate them with anthropometric data.
• To identify a specific vertebral level as a landmark for total abdominal fat volume prediction.

Main Methods:

• Six male minipigs underwent single-detector CT scans under general anesthesia.
• Three radiologists manually delineated regions of interest at vertebral levels T11, T13, L1, L3, and L5 to assess fat HU values.
• CT-determined fat volumes were correlated with anthropometric measurements (sagittal abdominal diameter, waist circumference).

Main Results:

• Radiologist agreement for CT number and abdominal fat assessment was high (intra-class coefficient = 0.9).
• Overall HU ranges for visceral and subcutaneous fat were -147.47 to -83.46 and -131.62 to -90.97, respectively.
• Total abdominal fat volume strongly correlated with T13 level fat volume (r = 0.97, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions:

• CT-based measurement of abdominal adipose tissue at the T13 level is a robust predictor of total abdominal adipose volume.
• The T13 vertebral level serves as a reliable landmark for assessing abdominal fat distribution in minipigs.
• CT imaging provides a valuable tool for quantitative analysis of abdominal fat in preclinical studies.