Mapping of muscle deformation during heating: in situ dynamic MRI and nonlinear registration

We present developments in dynamic magnetic resonance imaging that allow internal structural muscle markers to be followed during heating. This monitoring is based on quantitative characterization of the experimental conditions and their temperature time course. A nonlinear image registration technique was optimized and applied to consecutively acquired images to measure the deformation fields in the muscle. A model coupling local deformation and temperature was obtained, which for the first time takes into account the variations of deformation and temperature in the sample. This modeling opens the way to a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for mass loss and degradation of the textural properties of muscle during heating. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.