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The assessment method for skeletal muscle fat infiltration: quantitative magnetic resonance imaging
WANG Jing  LI Junfei  ZHAO Jian 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.01.031.


[Abstract] Fat infiltration (FI) in skeletal muscles is extensively involved in the pathological progression of various diseases. Accurately assessing the degree of muscle fat infiltration is of paramount importance for formulating effective treatment plans and intervening in disease progression. Radiological parameters for quantifying fat infiltration, particularly those derived from quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) technology, have demonstrated significant potential as diagnostic elements for diseases and predictive tools for metabolic risks. This article primarily focuses on introducing the advantages and limitations of qMRI techniques, including chemical shift encoding magnetic resonance imaging (CSE-MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), T1/T2 mapping, and texture analysis, as well as their clinical applications in the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, metabolic diseases, and degenerative conditions associated with osteoarthritis. Studies have shown that qMRI technology can precisely quantify muscle fat infiltration and holds promise as an important non-invasive diagnostic tool in the field of muscle pathology.
[Keywords] quantitative magnetic resonance imaging；fat quantification；skeletal muscle fat infiltration；biomarker；non-invasive diagnosis

WANG Jing1, 2   LI Junfei1   ZHAO Jian1*  

1 Department of Medical Imaging, Hebei Medical University Third Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050051, China

2 Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China

Corresponding author: ZHAO J, E-mail: zhaojiansohu@126.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-07-31
Accepted  2025-11-10
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.01.031
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.01.031.

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