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Research progress in quantitative magnetic resonance imaging for assessing muscle tissue in neuromuscular diseases
WANG Chijie  LI Xuesheng  XU Huayan  SONG Yu 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.029.


[Abstract] Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) technology has significantly advanced the physiological and pathological assessment of muscle tissue in neuromuscular diseases due to its high soft-tissue resolution and multi-parametric capabilities. Among them, qMRI techniques such as T1 mapping, T2 mapping, Dixon, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can precisely quantify the degree of fat infiltration, edema, and fibrosis in muscle tissue, reveal disease-specific pathological invasion patterns, and provide important quantitative microscopic information for neuromuscular diseases. This review summarizes the technical principles of qMRI and its emerging applications in neuromuscular degenerative diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), systematically compares the pathological sensitivity and clinical efficacy of five core qMRI modalities, and proposes an imaging technology optimization strategy based on clinical needs (encompassing early diagnosis, therapeutic effect monitoring, prognosis prediction).Ultimately, this work provides a systematic literature review and viewpoint integration for the precise imaging management of neuromuscular diseases.
[Keywords] magnetic resonance imaging；quantitative assessment；muscle tissue；neuromuscular diseases；fat infiltration；fibrosis

WANG Chijie   LI Xuesheng   XU Huayan   SONG Yu*  

Department of Radiology, West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610066, China

Corresponding author: SONG Y, E-mail: babysong020@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-03-22
Accepted  2026-06-22
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.029
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.07.029.

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