Human body surface area: measurement and prediction using three dimensional body scans

Abstract

The development of three dimensional laser scanning technology and sophisticated graphics editing software have allowed an alternative and potentially more accurate determination of body surface area (BSA). Raw whole-body scans of 641 adults (395 men and 246 women) were obtained from the anthropometric data base of the Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource project. Following surface restoration of the scans (i.e. patching and smoothing), BSA was calculated. A representative subset of the entire sample population involving 12 men and 12 women (G24) was selected for detailed measurements of hand surface area (SAhand) and ratios of surface area to volume (SA/VOL) of various body segments. Regression equations involving wrist circumference and arm length were used to predict SAhand of the remaining population. The overall [mean (SD)] of BSA were 2.03 (0.19) and 1.73 (0.19) m2 for men and women, respectively. Various prediction equations were tested and although most predicted the measured BSA reasonably closely, residual analysis revealed an overprediction with increasing body size in most cases. Separate non-linear regressions for each sex yielded the following best-fit equations (with root mean square errors of about 1.3%): BSA (cm2) = 128.1 x m0.44 x h0.60 for men and BSA = 147.4 x m0.47 x h0.55 for women, where m, body mass, is in kilograms and h, height, is in centimetres. The SA/VOL ratios of the various body segments were higher for the women compared to the men of G24, significantly for the head plus neck (by 7%), torso (19%), upper arms (15%), forearms (20%), hands (18%), and feet (11%). The SA/VOL for both sexes ranged from approximately 12.m-1 for the pelvic region to 104-123.m-1 for the hands, and shape differences were a factor for the torso and lower leg.

Estimation of Regional Body Surface Area Covered by Clothing

“…For instance, DuBois (1914) and Mehra (1959) reported that %RBSA for the head & neck had a mean of 6% BSA, while the %RBSA amounts to approximately 9ϳ10% BSA according to Niya (1931), Kurazumi (1994) and the present study. For the trunk, Niya (1931) obtained %RBSA by 25%, 32% for Tikuisis et al (2001) and Mehra (1958), and 35ϳ38% for US EPA (1985) and the present study. The one conceivable reason that those studies showed differences may result from the varieties between races.…”

“…DuBois, 1914;Hakumi, 1943;Mehra, 1958;Kurazumi, 1994;Tikuisis et al, 2001). However, there are some discrepancies in %RBSA among studies.…”

A review of existing anatomical data capture methods to support the mass customisation of wrist splints

“…The case study demonstrates that scanning can be effective when scanning inanimate objects, because concerns over involuntary movement are diminished. This method is supported by Tikuisis et al (2001), who reported highly accurate resolution of scanned hand data. Based on the conclusion of Surendran et al (2009), Plaster of Paris would be a very effective material for scanning, due to its matte appearance, even colour tone, opacity and its ability to capture fine detail, but casting can be messy, time consuming and may be uncomfortable for patients.…”

Surface measurement and tracking of human body parts from multi-image video sequences

“…The interested disciplines are orthopedics (Ono, 1995;Hackenberg et al, 2000), orthodontics (Motegi et al, 1996;Hoeflinger, 1996), physiology (Tikuisis et al, 2001), plastic surgery (Okada, 2001) and biomechanics (Ronsky et al, 1999;Savatier et al, 2001). The common characteristic of the existing techniques applied in medical applications is the required high accuracy.…”

“…Laser scanning Okada, 2001;Tikuisis et al, 2001) and structured light methods (Wolf, 1996;Hackenberg et al, 2000;Sitnik and Kujawinska, 2000) are widely used to measure objects in macro scale. They have common characteristics in the acquisition and processing.…”