Computerized diffractometer for measurements of sarcomere lengths in meat: An evaluation of data reduction methods

A computerized laser diffractometer was evaluated on the basis of two different theoretical models for light diffraction in muscle tissue. It was shown that the method of computing sarcomere lengths from the positions of the left and right first order diffraction lines is model dependent. Sarcomere lengths obtained by the diffractometer were compared to microscopically determined sarcomere lengths on freeze-sectioned M. sternomandibularis from a material consisting of muscle strips held at different degrees of stretch. Treating left and right diffraction lines as independent observations led to the determination of sarcomere lengths with negligible deterministic error. The possibility of utilizing the fine structure and intensity of the diffraction patterns to improve the sarcomere length determination and provide more relevant information is discussed.