Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Measuring electrical impedance or conductance of body portion
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-01
2001-07-03
Nasser, Robert L. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Measuring electrical impedance or conductance of body portion
Reexamination Certificate
active
06256532
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for analyzing conveniently body composition based on bioelectrical impedance analysis, and a method thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the impedance of the body segments by contacting the hands and the feet to metal electrodes and by adjusting a hands bar to the height of the measuring person so as to input the height automatically, and a method for quantitatively analyzing body composition such as body fluid, body fat, and the like. According to the present invention, the data on height, age, sex, and the like are not inputted through a keyboard.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A human body is composed of water, protein, bone and fat, in addition to small amounts of special components. The total of these elements constitutes the body weight. Quantitatively measuring the respective elements is called body composition analysis. Recent years body composition analyzers have been actively developed due to interest in health care from fatness. The proportion occupied by the fat is called fatness and is used in diagnosing various adult diseases. In the medical terms, of the body composition, fat free mass (FFM) is the main component for supporting the human body. Patients suffering from malnutrition related, for example to cancer are subject to a periodic FFM measurement to determine a remission state or monitor progress of the disease. In the case where a fatty man performs athletic exercises to reduce the body weight, it frequently happens that the body weight shows almost no variation within a relatively short period of several months. In this case, if the body composition is measured, it will be found that the amount of muscle has increased, although the amount of fat has decreased. In this way, the effect of the athletic exercise can be measured in a rational manner. Further, based on the analysis of the body composition, the growth of children and the nutritional status of elderly men can be diagnosed. Particularly, for various patients, the segmental water distribution can be measured to determine patient's hydration status.
As one of conventional methods for measuring the body composition, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is widely employed. This method is carried out in the following manner. That is, a weak alternating electric current is passed across the human body to measure the electrical resistance or conductance of the body, as well as measuring the height and weight. Based on these measured values, the amount of the body fluid, the fluid balance inside and outside the cell, and the amount of the body fat are calculated.
FIG. 1
represents a conventional embodiment using the BIA method. According to the conventional BIA method, body composition is analyzed by a series of steps of attaching the electrodes on the hands and feet, inputting sex, age, weight, and height of the measuring person, measuring impedances at the respective body parts, calculating body compositions in a microprocessor, and displaying the resulting data on a display or printing the data out through a printer. Such conventional BIA method has disadvantages that an operator attaches the electrodes on the hands and feet of the measuring person, and that the operator or the measuring person inputs the sex, age, weight, and height of the measuring person through a keyboard.
FIG. 2
represents another embodiment using the BIA method, which is patented as U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,296 to Cha. According to the U.S. patent, the body composition is measured by the steps of contacting a right palm, a right thumb, a left palm, a left thumb, a right front sole, a right rear sole, a left front sole and a left rear sole to eight electrodes, measuring segmental impedances by means of an impedance measuring instrument by selecting an electronic switch which is controlled by a micro-processor, measuring body weight by means of a weight measuring sensor, inputting body height, age and sex through a keyboard, and measuring an amount of body fluid (TBW), an amount of fat free mass (FFM), a percent body fat (%BF) and a distribution of body fluid (ECW/ICW), by means of the micro-processor. Although the U.S. patent has an advantage that the weight is automatically measured by a weight measuring sensor, it has still has a disadvantage that the measuring person inputs height, age, and sex through a keyboard. Such method gives inconvenience to the measuring persons who are not familiar with the operation of the apparatus.
In an attempt to overcome the above described disadvantage, the present inventor has developed a new apparatus for analyzing body composition and a method thereof, which is characterized by standing on the apparatus, gripping the hands bar of the apparatus, and adjusting the hands bar to the height of the measuring person.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for analyzing the body composition by measuring the bioelectrical impedance, in which the body composition can be analyzed in a simple and convenient manner even without inputting age and sex of the measuring person through a keyboard, like when measuring body weight on an electronic scale.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for measuring the body composition, in which weight of the measuring person is measured by a measuring sensor and input to a microprocessor and in which height of the measuring person is input to the microprocessor by adjusting the hands bar.
It is still another object of the present invention an apparatus for measuring the body composition, in which the height is neither input through a keyboard nor measured in a direct way.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for measuring the body composition, which does not have a keyboard to input height, age, or sex of the measuring person.
The above objects and other advantages of the present invention can be achieved by the ensuing disclosure and appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In achieving the above objects, the apparatus for analyzing the body composition based on the bioelectrical impedance analysis according to the present invention includes a standing plate having four electrodes for contacting a right front sole, a right rear sole, a left front sole, and a left rear sole, respectively; a hands bar having four electrodes for contacting a right palm, a right thumb, a left palm, and a left thumb, respectively; a support rod for supporting the hands bar and connecting an axis; a display; a sensor for sensing the rotating position of the support rod and indicating the height of the measuring person to the display; an impedance measuring circuit for measuring the impedance based on a voltage-current ratio by making an alternating current flow between two of the electrodes and reading the voltage difference; an electronic switch for being controlled by a microprocessor to select electrical connections between the electrodes and the impedance measuring circuit; a weight measuring sensor for measuring the body weight of the measuring person; an A/D converter and amplifiers for interfacing the impedance measuring circuit, the weight measuring sensor, and the sensor for indicating the height to the micro-processor; and the microprocessor controlling the electronic switch and processing the data received from the impedance measuring circuit, the weight measuring sensor, and the sensor for indicating the height.
In the body composition analyzing apparatus of the present invention, the results processed by the microprocessor are displayed on the display, and when needed, a printer is added for printing the results.
The apparatus of this invention may be equipped with an interface for connecting an outside computer.
In another aspect of the present invention, the method for measuring the body impedance according to the present invention includes the steps of standing on the standing plate, thereby contacting a right front sole, a right
Biospace Co. Ltd.
Nasser Robert L.
Wingood Pamela L.
Woodcock Washburn Kurtz Mackiewicz & Norris
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