Method and apparatus for measuring body fat in animals
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for measuring at least one body composition measure of an animal, said apparatus comprising:
- a mat having four pairs of electrodes on a surface thereof, each said electrode pair configured to contact a different paw of an animal standing on the mat;
electronic circuitry electrically coupled to the four pairs of electrodes and configured to utilize the four pairs of electrodes to measure a first impedance of the animal standing on the mat through one front paw of the animal and one rear paw of the animal and a second impedance of the animal standing on the mat though both front paws of the animal in parallel and both rear paws of the animal in parallel; and
the electronic circuitry including a processor configured to determine a body composition measure of the animal utilizing the first measured impedance and the second measured impedance.
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Abstract
A method for measuring a body composition measure of an animal includes steps of measuring a first electrical impedance between a front foot pad of the animal and a rear foot pad of the animal; measuring a second electrical impedance between two front foot pads of the animal in parallel with one another and two rear foot pads of the animal in parallel with one another; and utilizing the first electrical impedance, the second electrical impedance, and a regression relationship to determine the body composition measure of the animal.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring at least one body composition measure of an animal, said apparatus comprising:
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a mat having four pairs of electrodes on a surface thereof, each said electrode pair configured to contact a different paw of an animal standing on the mat;
electronic circuitry electrically coupled to the four pairs of electrodes and configured to utilize the four pairs of electrodes to measure a first impedance of the animal standing on the mat through one front paw of the animal and one rear paw of the animal and a second impedance of the animal standing on the mat though both front paws of the animal in parallel and both rear paws of the animal in parallel; and
the electronic circuitry including a processor configured to determine a body composition measure of the animal utilizing the first measured impedance and the second measured impedance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for determining a relationship between body impedance of an animal and at least one body composition measure of an animal, said method comprising:
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measuring a first electrical impedance between a front foot pad of the animal and a rear foot pad of the animal;
measuring a second electrical impedance between two front foot pads of the animal in parallel with one another and two rear foot pads of the animal in parallel with one another;
determining a torso impedance of the animal using the first measured impedance and the second measured impedance;
repeating said measuring of the first impedance, measuring of the second impedance, and determining the torso impedance for a plurality of animals of the same species;
obtaining an independent determination of the at least one body composition measure of the plurality of animals;
performing a regression analysis using the independent determination of the at least one body composition measure to determine a relationship between the at least one body composition measure and variables including torso impedance; and
programming a processor to determine a body composition measure of an animal utilizing impedance measurements of an animal and the determined relationship. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for measuring at least one body composition measure of an animal, said method comprising:
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standing the animal on a pad having an electrode array contacting foot pads of the animal, wherein the electrode array has four pairs of interdigitated electrodes and wherein a different paw of the animal is standing on each pair of interdigitated electrodes;
measuring a first electrical impedance between a front foot pad of the animal and a rear foot pad of the animal;
measuring a second electrical impedance between two front foot pads of the animal in parallel with one another and two rear foot pads of the animal in parallel with one another; and
utilizing the first electrical impedance, the second electrical impedance, and a regression relationship to determine the at least one body composition measure of the animal. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for measuring at least one body composition measure of an animal, said method comprising:
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standing the animal on an electrode array contacting the foot pads of the animal;
measuring a first electrical impedance between a front foot pad of the animal and a rear foot pad of the animal;
measuring a second electrical impedance between two front foot pads of the animal in parallel with one another and two rear foot pads of the animal in parallel with one another; and
utilizing the first electrical impedance, the second electrical impedance, and a regression relationship to determine the at least one body composition measure of the animal, wherein the animal is a dog. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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Specification