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Author Spotlight: Advancements in 3D Optical Imaging for Comprehensive Body Composition Assessment in Modern Research
Published on: June 7, 2024
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Anthropometric evaluation of a 3D scanning mobile application.
Brooke Smith1, Cassidy McCarthy1, Marcelline E Dechenaud1
1Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
|May 2, 2022
Summary
Smartphone apps can accurately measure body circumferences, offering a accessible way for global body phenotyping. This technology has significant clinical and research potential for assessing body size and shape outside of professional settings.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical engineering
- Anthropometry
- Health informatics
Background:
- Three-dimensional (3D) imaging systems are valuable for quantifying body size and shape in healthcare.
- Smartphone applications (apps) present an opportunity for accessible, at-home phenotyping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare body circumference measurements from a smartphone app and a 3D imaging system against traditional tape measurements.
- To assess the accuracy and reliability of smartphone-based body phenotyping.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-nine adults were scanned using both a smartphone app (MeThreeSixty) and a 20-camera 3D system (SS20).
- Circumference estimates from the app and 3D system were generated using the same software.
- Measurements were compared to reference measurements taken with a flexible tape.
Main Results:
- The smartphone app and 3D system demonstrated similar coefficients of variation, slightly higher than tape measurements.
- Strong correlations (R²: 0.72-0.95) were observed between both imaging methods and tape measurements (p < 0.001).
- Minimal bias was detected between imaging approaches and tape measurements.
Conclusions:
- Smartphone apps offer a viable, accessible tool for body size and shape phenotyping.
- These findings support the potential for global health research and clinical applications using smartphone technology.
- Ubiquitous smartphone availability enables widespread body phenotyping for health assessment.
