Researchers expand study on muscle atrophy

Researchers at The Ohio State University have fabricated a wearable sensor designed to detect and monitor muscle atrophy, a condition that’s typically caused by degenerative disease, aging or muscle disuse. The practice of using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess muscle size and volume can require frequent testing, but this can be time consuming and costly. The new study suggests that an electromagnetic sensor made of conductive material could be used as an alternative to MRIs. The findings showed that the sensor could measure small-scale volume changes in overall limb size and monitor muscle loss of up to 51%.  

The study was led by graduate fellow Allyanna Rice and builds on her previous work in creating health sensors for NASA. The space agency is interested, as spending large amounts of time in space can often have detrimental effects on the human body, including atrophied muscles. While scientists know that even crew members on short spaceflights can experience up to a 20% loss in muscle mass and bone density, there isn’t much data on what effects living in space for much longer missions could have on their bodies, Rice says. Photo: NASA