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Cited by 275Nutrition and Health in AgingBody Composition Measurement TechniquesRadiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging

Measuring Abdominal Circumference and Skeletal Muscle From a Single Cross‐Sectional Computed Tomography Image: A Step‐by‐Step Guide for Clinicians Using National Institutes of Health ImageJ

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Gomez‐Perez, Sandra L., Haus, Jacob M., Sheean, Patricia, Patel, Bimal, Mar, Winnie, Chaudhry, Vivek, McKeever, Liam, Braunschweig, Carol·2016·Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
DOI 10.1177/0148607115604149PMC PMC4767633
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Abstract

Diagnostic computed tomography (CT) scans provide numerous opportunities for body composition analysis, including quantification of abdominal circumference, abdominal adipose tissues (subcutaneous, visceral, and intermuscular), and skeletal muscle (SM). CT scans are commonly performed for diagnostic purposes in clinical settings, and methods for estimating abdominal circumference and whole‐body SM mass from them have been reported. A supine abdominal circumference is a valid measure of waist circumference (WC). The valid correlation between a single cross‐sectional CT image (slice) at third lumbar (L3) for abdominal SM and whole‐body SM is also well established. Sarcopenia refers to the age‐associated decreased in muscle mass and function. A single dimensional definition of sarcopenia using CT images that includes only assessment of low whole‐body SM has been validated in clinical populations and significantly associated with negative outcomes. However, despite the availability and precision of SM data from CT scans and the relationship between these measurements and clinical outcomes, they have not become a routine component of clinical nutrition assessment. Lack of time, training, and expense are potential barriers that prevent clinicians from fully embracing this technique. This tutorial presents a systematic, step‐by‐step guide to quickly quantify abdominal circumference as a proxy for WC and SM using a cross‐sectional CT image from a regional diagnostic CT scan for clinical identification of sarcopenia. Multiple software options are available, but this tutorial uses ImageJ, a free public‐domain software developed by the National Institutes of Health.

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  • Previous studies tested the feasibility of obtaining waist circumference measurements from CT images by drawing a region of interest or by step-by-step image analysis, but those methods require time-consuming human intervention.

    “Several previous studies [12, 13] have tested the feasibility of obtaining WC measurements from CT images by drawing a region of interest or by step-by-step image analysis; however, those methods require time-consuming human intervention.”

    From Fully automated waist circumference measurement on abdominal CT: Comparison with manual measurements and potential value for identifying overweight and obesity as an adjunct output of CT scan (2021) · cites this paper as [12]

    The Background describes CT-derived abdominal circumference as a proxy for waist circumference and identifies analysis time and training as barriers. The Methods give a step-by-step ImageJ procedure requiring a user to select and measure the abdominal perimeter. This paper is a tutorial rather than a study testing feasibility, and its waist-circumference step uses a tracing tool rather than manual drawing of a region of interest. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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References 50 · Cited by 275

Research works printed but not linked: 37

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Authors
Gomez‐Perez, S. L., Haus, J. M., Sheean, P., Patel, B., Mar, W., Chaudhry, V., McKeever, L., & Braunschweig, C.
Affiliations
  • University of Illinois Chicago (US)
  • Loyola University Chicago (US)
  • University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (US)
Corresponding author
Braunschweig, Carol
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2015-09-21
Volume
40
Issue
3
Pages
308-318
ISSN
  • 0148-6071 (ISSN-L)
  • 1941-2444
DOI
10.1177/0148607115604149
PMC
PMC4767633
OpenAlex
W2181635775
Cited by
275
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 4
FWCI
8.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
correction (2016-04-29)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (5R25‐CA057699)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging
Keywords
abdominal circumference, waist circumference, skeletal muscle mass, sarcopenia, body composition, ImageJ, abdominal fat
MeSH terms
Adipose Tissue, Body Composition, Female, Humans, Lumbosacral Region, Male, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Software, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, United States, Guidelines as Topic, Muscle, Skeletal, Waist Circumference, Sarcopenia

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