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Updated: Jun 10, 2025

Segmentation and Linear Measurement for Body Composition Analysis using Slice-O-Matic and Horos
Published on: March 21, 2021
Imaging of Body Composition
Silvia Gazzotti1, Rebecca Sassi1, Maria Pilar Aparisi Gómez2,3,4
1Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
Abstract:
Body composition is now recognized to have a major impact on health and disease. Imaging enables its analysis in an objective and quantitative way through diverse techniques such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography. This review article first surveys the methodological aspects underpinning the use of these modalities to assess body composition, highlighting their strengths and limitations as well as the set of parameters that they measure and their clinical relevance. It then provides an update on the main applications of body composition imaging in current practice, with a focus on sarcopenia, obesity, lipodystrophies, cancer, and critical care. We conclude by considering the emerging role of artificial intelligence in the analysis of body composition, enabling the extraction of numerous metrics with the potential to refine prognostication and management across a number of pathologies, paving the way toward personalized medicine.
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