Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Portable digital devices for paediatric height and length measurement: A scoping review and target product profile
Tasmyn Soller1, Shan Huang1, Sayaka Horiuchi1
1Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Program, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Insights
Digital devices for measuring child height show promise but need more data for full assessment. Further research and development are crucial for reliable, precise measurements in clinical and public health settings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Public Health
Background:
- Routine anthropometry, including height measurement, is vital for pediatric clinical assessments.
- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) advocates for advanced digital devices to enhance child nutrition and growth surveillance.
- This review identifies and evaluates portable, digital height/length measurement devices for children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify all available portable, digital height/length measurement devices for children.
- To assess these devices against the UNICEF Target Product Profile (TPP).
- To determine devices with high potential for clinical and public health applications.
Main Methods:
- Searched Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Global Health databases, plus grey literature (1992-2023).
- Included studies/reports on portable, digital devices for measuring height/length in children up to 18 years.
- Evaluated devices against 34 UNICEF TPP criteria, with duplicate screening and data extraction.
Main Results:
- Twelve digital height/length measurement devices were identified from twenty studies.
- On average, only 10 out of 34 UNICEF TPP criteria could be fully assessed for the devices.
- Six devices met UNICEF's ideal accuracy standard; one met the minimum. Leica DistoD2 scored highest (41%).
Conclusions:
- Despite the existence of 12 devices, insufficient data prevent full assessment of their suitability for industry needs.
- Some devices show potential, but further research on validity in diverse contexts is required.
- Continued development and commercialization are essential for improving device reliability and precision for widespread use.
Background:
Routine anthropometry of children, including length/height measurement, is an essential component of paediatric clinical assessments. UNICEF has called for the accelerated development of novel, digital height/length measurement devices to improve child nutrition and growth surveillance programs. This scoping review aimed to identify all digital, portable height/length measurement devices in the literature or otherwise available internationally. We also assessed identified devices against the UNICEF Target Product Profile (TPP) to identify those of highest potential for clinical and public health use.
Method:
We searched four databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Global Health) and the grey literature between 1st January 1992 and 2nd February 2023. We looked for studies or reports on portable, digital devices for height or length measurement in children up to 18 years old. Citations were screened independently by two reviewers, with data extraction and quality assessment performed in duplicate and disagreements resolved. Devices were evaluated and scored against the 34 criteria of the UNICEF TPP.
Results:
Twenty studies describing twelve height/length measurement devices were identified, most of which used prospective validation designs. Additional devices were found in the grey literature, but these did not report key performance data so were not included. Across the twelve devices, only 10 of 34 UNICEF criteria on average could be fully assessed. Six met UNICEF's ideal accuracy standard and one device met the minimum accuracy standard. The Leica DistoD2 device scored highest (41%), followed by Autoanthro in a controlled environment (33%) and GLM30 (32%). These devices may be high potential for further assessment and development, though further research is required.
Conclusion:
While 12 portable, digital devices exist for child height/length measurement, insufficient data are available to fully assess whether they meet the industry's needs. Although some devices show promise, further research is needed to test the validity of these devices in varying contexts, and continued development and commercialization will be important to improve reliability and precision of these devices for widespread use.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Temperature Measurement Sites
Oral: When assessing oral temperature, the thermometer tip should be placed under the tongue in the posterior sublingual pocket. It offers accurate readings and can be...
01:13Equipments Used to Measure Body Temperature
Glass-bulb Thermometer:
Glass-bulb thermometers are hollow glass tubes with a bulb tip containing liquid such as ethanol or mercury. Historically, glass bulb mercury thermometers were the standard device to measure body temperature. Today, mercury thermometers are prohibited in many countries due to the hazardous effects of mercury and the risk of exposure if the glass bulb breaks. In general,...