Computerized Laser Diffractometer for Routine Measurements of Sarcomere Lengths in Meat

摘要

ABSTRACTA computerized laser diffractometer was constructed to measure lengths of sarcomeres in muscle tissue. Calibration and fault‐finding procedures were incorporated to ensure reliable performance. The computer provided outputs of sarcomere length, first‐order width and printed statistics from a series of measurements. Sarcomere lengths obtained by the diffractometer method were compared with microscopically determined sarcomere lengths on freeze‐sectioned raw or fixed porcine M. Longissimus dorsi muscles. The diffractometer yielded somewhat lower mean values than the microscope but both types of measurements were found to be significantly (P<0.001) correlated with the corresponding Warner‐Bratzler shear values. The primary advantage of using the computerized diffractometer as compared to manual measurements of diffraction patterns was the possibility of using freeze‐sectioned ra