Performing In Vivo and Ex Vivo Electrical Impedance Myography in Rodents

Electrical impedance myography (EIM) is a convenient technique that can be used in preclinical and clinical studies to assess muscle tissue health and disease. EIM is obtained by applying a low-intensity, directionally focused, electrical current to a muscle of interest across a range of frequencies (i.e., from 1 kHz to 10 MHz) and recording the resulting voltages. From these, several standard impedance components, including the reactance, resistance, and phase, are obtained. When performing ex vivo measurements on excised muscle, the inherent passive electrical properties of the tissue, namely the conductivity and relative permittivity, can also be calculated. EIM has been used extensively in animals and humans to diagnose and track muscle alterations in a variety of diseases, in relation to simple disuse atrophy, or as a measure of therapeutic intervention. Clinically, EIM offers the potential to track disease progression over time and to assess the impact of therapeutic interventions, thus offering the opportunity to shorten the clinical trial duration and reduce sample size requirements. Because it can be performed noninvasively or minimally invasively in living animal models as well as humans, EIM offers the potential to serve as a novel translational tool enabling both preclinical and clinical development. This article provides step-by-step instructions on how to perform in vivo and ex vivo EIM measurements in mice and rats, including approaches to adapt the techniques to specific conditions, such as for use in pups or obese animals.