Figure 3

Quantification of percent adipose tissue in abdomen-L4 region. For a given transaxial MR image, both the total volume and the total subcutaneous and connected visceral (sc + visc) fat volumes were selected using the Connected Threshold Grower tool. Subcutaneous adipose tissue (sc) cannot be obtained directly due to software limitation, and is selected for by manually eliminating visceral signals present in (sc + visc) images Their corresponding volumes were determined using the Voxel Counter tool. The percent subcutaneous adipose tissue was calculated for by dividing the voxel count determined for the sc fat by the total voxels for the slice. The percent visceral adipose tissue was calculated for by subtracting the sc fat voxel count from that of sc + visc and then dividing the value obtained by the total voxels for the slice. Solid lines in the figure represent direct automated attainment of threshold image via ImageJ program. Dotted lined represent indirect attainment of threshold image, requiring manual modification.