MRIndex: A tool for evaluating muscle involvement in neuromuscular diseases from MRI images

The progress and severity of neuromuscular conditions can be monitored in several ways, most of which are invasive and, thus, poorly acceptable, for the patient. Among the least obtrusive solutions, the use of muscular magnetic resonance imaging is gaining importance in last decades, therefore becoming the elective methodology for defining the muscular involvement in such conditions. However, subjectivity is always quite frequent in the interpretation of biomedical images, and the diagnosis is often demanded to the experience of the clinician's eye. With MRIndex, a novel tool for the automated analysis of muscular magnetic resonance images, a quantitative “picture” of the muscular involvement in neuromuscular conditions is defined, stemming from the definition of fat infiltration within the muscular tissue, well-known biomarker for disease severity. The solution is currently used at clinics and preliminary at-a-glance results are quite promising. If such evidence is confirmed on larger cohorts and with a more robust statistical approach, the tool can represent a groundbreaking alternative in current clinical practice, possibly bringing to a more objective definition of the clinical status of a patient and helping in the personalization of the treatment, possibly improving their outcome.