Reliability of multiple frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis: An intermachine comparison

The technical reliability (i.e., interinstrument and interoperator reliability) of three SEAC-swept frequency bioimpedance monitors was assessed for both errors of measurement and associated analyses. In addition, intraoperator and intrainstrument variability was evaluated for repeat measures over a 4-hour period. The measured impedance values from a range of resistance-capacitance circuits were accurate to within 3% of theoretical values over a range of 50-800 ohms. Similarly, phase was measured over the range 1°-19° with a maximum deviation of 1.3° from the theoretical value. The extrapolated impedance at zero frequency was equally well determined (±3%). However, the accuracy of the extrapolated value at infinite frequency was decreased, particularly at impedances below 50 ohms (approaching the lower limit of the measurement range of the instrument). The interinstrument/operator variation for whole body measurements were recorded on human volunteers with biases of less than ±1% for measured impedance values and less than 3% for phase. The variation in the extrapolated values of impedance at zero and infinite frequencies included variations due to operator choice of the analysis parameters but was still less than ±0.5%. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 9:63-72 © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.