Apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body

• US 7,979,114 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2006
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tanita Corporation (Tanita)
• Original Assignee: Tanita Corporation (Tanita)
• Inventors: Masuo, Yoshihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Marmor, II; Charles A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Toth; Karen E
• Application Number:
  US11/491,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20070043302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,814 Days
• Field of Search: 600/547, 600/300, 600/309, 600529-543
• US Class Current: 600/547
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0537 Measuring body composition by impedance, e.g. tissue hydration or fat content
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/087 Measuring breath flow
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4872 Body fat

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus for assuming the information on the amount accumulated visceral fat in a human body with a high degree of accuracy. It comprises: at least a unit for collecting pieces of information on the identification of the human body and a unit for collecting pieces of information on breathing function, thereby making the visceral fat accumulation calculating unit provide the information on the amount accumulated visceral fat based on the so collected pieces of information.

Claims

1. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body comprising:

a body identifying unit;

a breathing function determining unit;

a computing unit, wherein said body identifying unit obtains information on the identification of the human body;

said breathing function determining unit obtains information on the breathing function; and

said computing unit calculates information on the amount accumulated visceral fat on the basis of the so obtained pieces of information on the identification of the human body and the breathing function;

wherein the breathing function determining unit comprises a trunk bioimpedance variation determining unit which determines the variation between the trunk bioimpedance at the time of maximum inspiration and that at the time of maximum expiration, and a vital capacity computing unit which calculates the information on the breathing function on the basis of the so determined trunk bioimpedance variation between the maximum inspiration and maximum expiration.

2. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 1 wherein it further comprises a body composition determining unit which obtains information on the body composition of the human body, thus permitting said computing unit to calculate information on the amount accumulated visceral fat on the basis of, among others, the so obtained pieces of information on the body composition of the human body.

3. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 2 wherein said body composition determining unit comprises a hand-to-hand bioimpedance determining unit which determines the bioimpedance appearing between both hands, and a body composition calculating unit which calculates information on the body composition of the human body on the basis of the so determined hand-to-hand impedance.

4. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 2 wherein said body composition determining unit comprises a limb bioimpedance determining unit which determines the bioimpedance appearing between two selected limbs, a trunk bioimpedance determining unit which determines the bioimpedance appearing between two selected points of the trunk, and a body composition calculating unit which calculates the body composition on the basis of the so determined limb bioimpedance and trunk bioimpedance.

5. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to any of claims 2 or 3 wherein the information on the identification of the human body include sex, age, height and weight;

the information on the breathing function include vital capacity; and

the information on the body composition include the trunk skeletal muscle rate.

6. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 5 wherein the information on the amount accumulated visceral fat include at least one of the visceral fat rate, visceral fat amount and the ratio of visceral fat/subcutaneous fat.

7. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to any of claims 2 or 3 wherein the information on the identification of the human body include sex, age, height and weight, and at least one of the upper limb length, lower limb length, trunk length and abdominal circumference;

the information on the breathing function include vital capacity; and

the information on the body composition include the trunk skeletal muscle rate.

8. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 7 wherein the information on the amount accumulated visceral fat include at least one of the visceral fat rate, visceral fat amount and the ratio of visceral fat/subcutaneous fat.

9. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 1, wherein the information on the identification of the human body include sex, age, height and weight, and the information on the breathing function includes vital capacity.

10. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 1, wherein the information on the identification of the human body include sex, age, height and weight, and at least one of the upper limb length, lower limb length, trunk length and abdominal circumference, and the information on the breathing function includes vital capacity.

11. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body comprising:

a body identifying unit;

a breathing function determining unit;

a computing unit, wherein said body identifying unit obtains information on the identification of the human body;

said breathing function determining unit obtains information on the breathing function; and

said computing unit calculates information on the amount accumulated visceral fat on the basis of the so obtained pieces of information on the identification of the human body and the breathing function;

wherein the information on the identification of the human body include sex, age, height and weight, and the information on the breathing function includes vital capacity.

12. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 11 wherein the information on the amount accumulated visceral fat include at least one of the visceral fat rate, visceral fat amount and the ratio of visceral fat/subcutaneous fat.

13. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body comprising:

a body identifying unit;

a breathing function determining unit;

a computing unit, wherein said body identifying unit obtains information on the identification of the human body;

said breathing function determining unit obtains information on the breathing function; and

said computing unit calculates information on the amount accumulated visceral fat on the basis of the so obtained pieces of information on the identification of the human body and the breathing function;

wherein the information on the identification of the human body include sex, age, height and weight, and at least one of the upper limb length, lower limb length, trunk length and abdominal circumference, and the information on the breathing function includes vital capacity.

14. An apparatus for assuming information on the amount accumulated visceral fat of a human body according to claim 13 wherein the information on the amount accumulated visceral fat include at least one of the visceral fat rate, visceral fat amount and the ratio of visceral fat/subcutaneous fat.