Identification of muscle and subcutaneous and intermuscular adipose tissue on thigh MRI of muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophies can affect the muscle distribution within the legs. In order to effectively study and track disease progression, it is important to quantify both muscle and fat volumes, and distinguish between subcutaneous (SAT) and intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT). While several techniques have been previously described that perform such classification, they rely heavily on the muscle location, and so may not be suitable for differentiating SAT and IMAT in severe cases of dystrophy. We propose a method that utilizes muscle location if available, but also identifies the fascia lata to serve as the boundary between SAT and IMAT. Our method achieved DICE coefficients of 0.93, 0.88, and 0.68 for muscle, SAT, and IMAT, respectively, in mild cases, of 0.94, 0.91, and 0.85 in moderate cases, and of 0.79, 0.90, and 0.91 in severe cases.