Estimation of poultry breastmeat yield:: magnetic resonance imaging as a tool to improve the positioning of ultrasonic scanners

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to reconstruct three-dimensional breast muscle volume of 30 broilers and to locate the most suitable cross-sections to estimate breast muscle yield by ultrasonic scanner. The high accuracy of the determination of the breast muscle yield (R-2 = 0.92) from the volume calculated by the sum of 6 mm-spaced MRI transverse images justified the choice of MRI as a reference method. Treatment of the images showed that it was possible to obtain acceptable breast meat yield prediction by MRI from a combination of two or three muscle transverse cross-section area, measurements. It also showed that the need to find interfaces reflecting ultrasound is a considerable handicap for optimizing the ultrasonic technique. The oblique echotomographic plane crossing the coracoid bone lengthwise and the fore part of the breast bone appears to be the most appropriate to improve significantly the determination provided by the transverse image situated at the fore part of the breast bone. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.