Length-free near infrared measurement of newborn malnutrition.
Under-nutrition in neonates can cause immediate mortality, impaired cognitive development and early onset adult disease. Body fat percentage measured using air-displacement-plethysmography has been found to better indicate under-nutrition than conventional birth weight percentiles. However, air-displacement-plethysmography equipment is expensive and non-portable, so is not suited for use in developing communities where the burden is often the greatest. We proposed a new body fat measurement technique using a length-free model with near-infrared spectroscopy measurements on a single site of the body - the thigh. To remove the need for length measurement, we developed a model with five discrete wavelengths and a sex parameter. The model was developed using air-displacement-plethysmography measurements in 52 neonates within 48 hours of birth. We identified instrumentation required in a low-cost LED-based screening device and incorporated a receptor device that can increase the amount of light collected. This near-infrared method may be suitable as a low cost screening tool for detecting body fat levels and monitoring nutritional interventions for malnutrition in neonates and young children in resource-constrained communities.
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Fatin Hamimi
FH
Mustafa
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Emily J
EJ
Bek
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Jacqueline
J
Huvanandana
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Peter W
PW
Jones
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Angela E
AE
Carberry
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.|Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.|Former Senior Staff Specialist in Neonatology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
Heather E
HE
Jeffery
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Craig T
CT
Jin
School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Alistair L
AL
McEwan
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D013848:Thigh / Q000033:anatomy & histology*