InBody technology
Biospace Body Composition Analysis
Obesity is one of the biggest health challenges the UK faces.
A recent Dept of Health publication states that almost 25% of adults in England are currently obese, and if we carry on as we are by 2050, 90% of adults will be overweight or obese. The cost of this to the NHS is estimated to be £4.2 billion and is forecasted to more than double by 2050.
Until recently, many believed that obesity could be treated by simply measuring BMI and losing body weight. It has become apparent that the treatment of obesity hinges on the reduction and control of body fat.
Over the past decades a technique has been developed which analyses body composition based on the electrical properties of biological tissues. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) has many advantages over other methods in that it is safe, rapid, easy to use and requires minimal operator training. Thus it has become widely used in hospitals, health & fitness centres and in field studies.
InBody Range of Body Composition Analysers
InBody's new technology has led to an amazing increase in accuracy & reproducibility and ended the misconception that BIA is inaccurate.
Direct Segmental Multi-frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (DSM-BIA) acknowledged by patents worldwide.
Direct Segmental Multi-frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (DSM-BIA) separately measures the impedance of the trunk, arms, and legs of our body.
It separates the flows of currents and electric potential. This new measurement concept measures the resistance at the cross point of two flows and takes the resistance values of the arms, legs and the body trunk.
Conventional equipment often takes a partial measurement only and relies upon formula to estimate whole body composition.
Direct Segmental Multi-frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (DSM-BIA) obtains an impedance measurement for each arm, leg, and the highly sensitive trunk, and is exclusive to InBody technology.
Accurate measurement of trunk impedance determines accuracy.
The human body is composed of five cylinders: the arms, the legs and
the trunk. With the technology of the InBody, the trunk is measured directly. The trunk is occupied by various internal organs and its
metabolic characteristics are different from the other parts of the
body. It is important to precisely and directly measure the trunk,
although difficult, since the trunk has very low resistance compared to
the arms and legs.
Resistances of arms and legs are normally
between 200~500Ω while those of body trunks are between 20~30Ω. Despite
its low resistance, the trunk accounts for 50% of total body weight.
Essentially, an error of 1~2Ω in arms or legs has a minimal effect upon
final measurement, but a 1~2Ω error in the trunk will cause major error
in the final value for this complex region.
Therefore the overall body composition can be accurately calculated
only when the slightest changes in impedance of the trunk can be
detected.
Ability to measure an accurate value of the trunk's impedance is InBody's exclusive technology and is vital to providing accurate body composition.
Multi-frequency measurement enables accurate testing.
Electric current has a different penetration force depending on frequency. Low frequencies travel around the body cells and are unable to penetrate the cell wall, thus measuring the water content outside of the cell ( the extra cellular space). A higher frequency will measure the water content inside of the cell because it penetrates the cell wall. By using a mixture of frequencies, the InBody can accurately measure water content inside and outside the cell separately.
Also, by using several different frequencies, you are able to provide more information on body composition because more resistance values are obtained. The InBody720 is based on six different frequencies that measure each segment, providing a total of 30 separate impedance values, thus providing accurate body composition information.
Controlling the path of high frequency waves is very difficult. This technical know-how is an InBody specific specialty and has been accumulated over many years of experience in the field.
8-point tactile electrodes offer high reproducibility.
When measuring impedance through any type of electrode, contact resistance can occur, and it is important to control this contact resistance in order to reduce errors in measurement
InBody uses a unique method of electrode placement. The 8-point tactile method ensures that measurement always starts at exactly the same point each time. This provides high reproducibility and correct body impedance measurement.
This high reproducibility through consistent starting points is unique in the body composition field and is exclusive to the InBody.
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