Peripheral quantitative computed tomography is a valid imaging technique for tracking changes in skeletal muscle...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiology
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) is increasingly used for skeletal muscle quantification.
• The validity of pQCT for measuring muscle cross-sectional area (mCSA) compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remains unestablished.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the validity of pQCT for quantifying mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area (mCSA).
• To compare pQCT measurements of mCSA and changes in mCSA with MRI following a resistance training intervention.

Main Methods:

• Eleven male participants underwent dual-leg mid-thigh imaging using both pQCT and MRI before and after a 6-week resistance training program.
• Muscle cross-sectional area (mCSA) and changes in mCSA were quantified.
• Bland-Altman analysis and Lin's concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) were used to assess agreement and concordance between the two imaging methods.

Main Results:

• Both pQCT and MRI demonstrated significant increases in mid-thigh mCSA after resistance training.
• There was no significant difference in the change in mCSA between the two methods (p=0.39).
• Excellent concordance (CCC=0.982) and agreement were found for mCSA measurements at a single time point, and excellent concordance (CCC=0.779) for changes in mCSA over time.

Conclusions:

• pQCT is a valid technique for measuring mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area (mCSA) at a single time point.
• pQCT is also a valid technique for assessing changes in mCSA following a resistance training intervention, showing excellent agreement with MRI.