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Updated: Jul 23, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
An assessment of the accuracy of a novel weight estimation device for children
Jae Yun Jung1, Young Ho Kwak2, Do Kyun Kim2
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seong-Nam, Korea.
Insights
The new rolling tape accurately estimates pediatric weight, outperforming the Broselow tape. This electronic device significantly speeds up critical resuscitation orders in emergencies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric emergency medicine
- Medical device validation
Background:
- Accurate pediatric weight estimation is crucial for medication dosing and resuscitation.
- Existing methods like the Broselow tape have limitations in accuracy and speed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the accuracy and assess the efficacy of a novel electronic weight estimation device, the rolling tape.
- To compare the rolling tape's performance against the Broselow tape in a pediatric emergency department setting.
Main Methods:
- A convenience sample of 906 children (<17 years) was enrolled.
- Researchers used the rolling tape and Broselow tape for weight estimation.
- Accuracy was measured by mean percentage error (MPE) and percentage within 10% of actual weight.
- Time to order critical resuscitation elements was compared in simulated arrest scenarios.
Main Results:
- The rolling tape demonstrated high accuracy, with MPE values of 0.11% and 75.1% within 10% for researcher 1, and 1.41% and 75.7% for researcher 2.
- The Broselow tape had an MPE of 1.72% and 60.6% within 10%.
- The rolling tape significantly reduced the time from measurement to ordering critical resuscitation elements (25.8s vs 35.5s).
Conclusions:
- The rolling tape is an accurate and effective tool for pediatric weight estimation.
- This device significantly decreases the time to initiate essential resuscitation orders, improving emergency care efficiency.
Background:
We sought to validate the accuracy and assess the efficacy of a newly developed electronic weight estimation device (ie, the rolling tape) for paediatric weight estimation.
Methods:
We enrolled a convenience sample of children aged <17 years presenting to our emergency department who volunteered to participate in the study. The children's heights and weights were measured, and three researchers estimated these values using the rolling tape and Broselow tape at 5 min intervals. The weight estimates of researcher 1, researcher 2 and the Broselow tape were compared with measured values, and mean percentage error (MPE), root mean square error (RMSE) and percentage of estimates within 10% of the actual measured values were calculated. For 30 randomly selected subjects, we compared the time interval from the start of the measurement to the time that orders for epinephrine, defibrillation dose and instrument size could be given in a simulated arrest scenario.
Results:
We enrolled 906 children (median age 4.0 years). For researcher 1, researcher 2 and the Broselow tape, MPE values were 0.11% (RMSE 2.61 kg), 1.41% (RMSE, 2.61 kg) and 1.72% (RMSE 5.41 kg), respectively, and the percentages of children with predictions within 10% of their actual weight were 75.1%, 75.7% and 60.6%, respectively. In the 30 simulated cases, the mean time for measurement to ordering was significantly shorter (25.8 s vs 35.5 s, p<0.001) for the rolling tape compared with the Broselow tape method.
Conclusions:
The rolling tape is a good weight estimation tool for children compared with other methods. The rolling tape method significantly decreased the time from weight estimation to orders for essential drug dose, instrument size and defibrillation dose for resuscitation.
