Diabetes detection with whole-body magnetic resonance imaging

DZD | 10-26-2021
Fully Integrated Whole-body Simultaneous PET MRI Device. Credit: Public Domain – NIH Image Gallery

Being overweight and having a lot of body fat increase the risk of diabetes. However, not every overweight person also develops the disease. The decisive factor is where the fat is stored in the body. If fat is stored under the skin, it is less harmful than fat in deeper areas of the abdomen (known as visceral fat).

How fat is distributed throughout the body can be easily visualized with whole-body magnetic resonance imaging. “We have now investigated whether type 2 diabetes could also be diagnosed on the basis of certain patterns of body fat distribution using MRI,” said last author Prof. Robert Wagner, explaining the researchers’ approach.

To detect such patterns, the researchers used artificial intelligence (AI). They trained deep learning (machine learning) networks with whole-body MRI scans of 2,000 people who had also undergone screening with the oral glucose tolerance test (abbreviated OGTT). The OGTT can screen for impaired glucose metabolism and diagnose diabetes. This is how the AI learned to detect diabetes.

“An analysis of the model results showed that fat accumulation in the lower abdomen plays a crucial role in diabetes detection,” Wagner said.  Further additional analysis also showed that a proportion of people with prediabetes, as well as people with a diabetes subtype that can lead to kidney disease, can also be identified via MRI scans.

The researchers are now working to decipher the biological regulation of body fat distribution. One goal is to identify the causes of diabetes through new methods such as the use of AI in order to find better preventive and therapeutic options.

The study is published in JCI Insight.


Source:

Materials provided by Deutsches Zentrum fuer Diabetesforschung DZD. Content may be edited for clarity, style, and length.


 

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