MRI patterns helped predict muscle strength in adults
In 141 adults, MRI fat patterns predicted strength with a model-fit score of 0.64, versus 0.42 for muscle size alone.
Research Square
An observational study compared muscle scans from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with strength measurements in 141 adults across three cohorts. Two groups comprised 82 healthy adults aged 22–94 and 24 healthy adults aged 30–79. A third included 35 adults aged 70–91. The scans came from three scanner manufacturers.
The researchers compared muscle size with radiomics, numerical features extracted from images. Muscle size strongly predicted strength in the healthy cohorts. Image features added predictive value when older adults were included. Patterns in MRI fat measurements performed most consistently. In the combined cohort, their model-fit score was 0.64, versus 0.42 for size alone. This score measures how much variation in strength a model accounts for. Greater variation within muscle images was linked to lower strength.
Why it matters
Age-related loss of muscle strength contributes to frailty, falls and loss of independence. The findings suggest that image-based measures of muscle composition may help future screening for sarcopenia, a condition involving low muscle mass and strength.
Caveats
The observational design cannot show that differences in muscle composition caused differences in strength. The paper is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed.
The paper
Radiomics-Based Muscle Quality Assessment from Multi-Site Multi-Vendor MRI
Cigdem O, Montin E, Ghouth SB et al.
Research Square · 7 Oct 2026 · Preprint, not peer-reviewed
