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Updated: Jul 27, 2026
Extracting Metrics for Three-dimensional Root Systems: Volume and Surface Analysis from In-soil X-ray Computed Tomography Data
Published on: April 26, 2016
An improvement of body surface area formulas using the 3D scanning technique
Grzegorz Redlarski1, Sławomir Kozieł2, Marek Krawczuk1
1Gdansk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland.
Objectives:
Body surface area (BSA) is one of the major parameters used in several medical fields. However, there are concerns raised about its usefulness, mostly due to the ambiguity of its estimation.
Material And Methods:
Authors have conducted a voluntary study to investigate BSA distribution and estimation in a group of 179 adult people of various sex, age, and physique. Here, there is provided an extended analysis of the majority of known BSA formulas. Furthermore, it was supplement with a comparison with the authors' propositions of enhanced formulas coefficients for known formulas models as well as with new power models based on an increased number of anthropometric data.
Results:
Introduction of the enhanced formulas coefficients cause a reduction of at least 30.5% in mean absolute error and 21.1% in maximum error in comparison with their known counterparts.
Conclusions:
In the context of the analysis presented it can be stated that the development of a single universal body surface area formula, based on a small number of state variables, is not possible. Therefore, it is necessary and justified to search for new estimation models that allow for quick and accurate calculation of body surface area for the entire population, regardless of individual body variations. The new formulas presented are such an alternative, which achieves better results than the previously known methods. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2024;37(2):205-19.
