An NMR Relaxometer for Measuring Age-Related Muscle Loss

The paper describes a table-type NMR-relaxometer for measuring spin-spin relaxation times of protons in living tissues. The proton spin relaxation times depend on the average number of paramagnetic centers in the medium under study; in particular, they are indicative of the difference in the intensity of the metabolic processes in the cellular structures of muscle and adipose tissues. This technique allows detecting age-related changes (sarcopenia) associated with the replacement of muscle fibers with connective tissue. Such relaxometers are comfortable to use and hold promise for assessing fatty infiltration of muscle tissue.