An in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humans
Fascia is a connective tissue that influences movement and may play roles in muscle force transmission, pain sensation, and lymphatic function. To date, 3D imaging of fascia using MRI has not been achieved due to short T2* times of collagen-rich fascia. Here, we use ultrashort echo time (UTE) MRI se...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging & Visualization |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681163.2025.2504445 |
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| author | M. Randika Perera Paul Condron Geoffrey Handsfield |
| author_facet | M. Randika Perera Paul Condron Geoffrey Handsfield |
| author_sort | M. Randika Perera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fascia is a connective tissue that influences movement and may play roles in muscle force transmission, pain sensation, and lymphatic function. To date, 3D imaging of fascia using MRI has not been achieved due to short T2* times of collagen-rich fascia. Here, we use ultrashort echo time (UTE) MRI sequences originally developed for cortical bone imaging to image lower limb fascia in healthy adults and examine fascia anatomy in vivo. We imaged the lower limbs of 30 healthy adults using 3T MRI with a dual-echo UTE sequence. Mean fascia thickness was 1.056 ± 0.208 mm in the thigh and 0.963 ± 0.089 mm in the calf. While thigh fascia thickness positively correlated with muscle volume and negatively with age, and calf fascia thickness showed a negative correlation with muscle and tibia volumes, these relationships were not statistically significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. Thigh fascia thickness variation was greater in women than men. Further research may explore these relationships and develop models to probe the role of fascia in lower limb mechanics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9d938c3a66f04eaab3af502131abfc8e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2168-1163 2168-1171 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging & Visualization |
| spelling | doaj-art-9d938c3a66f04eaab3af502131abfc8e2025-08-20T03:10:07ZengTaylor & Francis GroupComputer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging & Visualization2168-11632168-11712025-12-0113110.1080/21681163.2025.2504445An in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humansM. Randika Perera0Paul Condron1Geoffrey Handsfield2Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandMātai Medical Research Institute, Tairāwhiti Gisborne, New ZealandAuckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandFascia is a connective tissue that influences movement and may play roles in muscle force transmission, pain sensation, and lymphatic function. To date, 3D imaging of fascia using MRI has not been achieved due to short T2* times of collagen-rich fascia. Here, we use ultrashort echo time (UTE) MRI sequences originally developed for cortical bone imaging to image lower limb fascia in healthy adults and examine fascia anatomy in vivo. We imaged the lower limbs of 30 healthy adults using 3T MRI with a dual-echo UTE sequence. Mean fascia thickness was 1.056 ± 0.208 mm in the thigh and 0.963 ± 0.089 mm in the calf. While thigh fascia thickness positively correlated with muscle volume and negatively with age, and calf fascia thickness showed a negative correlation with muscle and tibia volumes, these relationships were not statistically significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. Thigh fascia thickness variation was greater in women than men. Further research may explore these relationships and develop models to probe the role of fascia in lower limb mechanics.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681163.2025.2504445MRIanatomyultrashort echo timeUTEmedical image processing |
| spellingShingle | M. Randika Perera Paul Condron Geoffrey Handsfield An in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humans Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging & Visualization MRI anatomy ultrashort echo time UTE medical image processing |
| title | An in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humans |
| title_full | An in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humans |
| title_fullStr | An in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humans |
| title_full_unstemmed | An in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humans |
| title_short | An in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humans |
| title_sort | in vivo imaging study of fascia thickness and muscle volume in the lower limb of healthy adult humans |
| topic | MRI anatomy ultrashort echo time UTE medical image processing |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681163.2025.2504445 |
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