New Directions in BIA

Today, when someone mentions BIA, there are certain concepts which can usually be assumed about how the BIA test is being performed and why. It is generally understood the test is being done to estimate body composition parameters by a hand to foot measurement that measures the whole body.

The documents in this section discusses different techniques for performing the BIA test. There are methods of interpreting the BIA data which are new and old that demonstrate important scientific concepts. Some of these application have been around for decades, effectively unnoticed by the scientific community.

• Comparison of more Proximal to Distal electrodes used in BIA - PDF 232 KB

• Eight Electrode Segmental BIA - PDF 1.3 MB

  This document discusses the usage of a new 8-lead subject cable which allows the body to be divided into multiple sections, or segments, and report resistance and reactance values for each segment, automatically.

• Principles of BIA -- Assessing Abdominal Subcutaneous Fat Thickness - PDF 481 KB

  This paper, written by RJL Systems, introduces Scharfetter's work (see below) and showcases an electrode template which greatly simplifies the reproduction of Scharfetter's electrode placement for the abdominal subcutaneous fat measurement.

• Assessing abdominal fatness with local bioimedance analysis: basis and experimental findings - PDF 826 KB

  "Objective: Abdominal fat is of major importance in terms of body fat distribution but poorly reflected in conventional body impedance measurements. We developed a new technique for assessing the abdominal subcutaneous fat layer thickness (SFL) with single frequency determinations of the electrical impedance across the waist (SAI)" - Hermann Scharfetter - Graz Austria

Documents linked to from this page discuss topics and uses of bioelectrical impedance science which may not be in wide usage. As a result, the statements made within them likely have not been evaluated by the FDA. RJL Systems is not making any claims about possible clinical utility of the topics discussed. The intended audience for these documents is the greater research community.