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 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 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
31 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 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 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, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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6. An apparatus in accordance with 5 wherein the processor is configured to determine at least one body composition measure selected from the group consisting of total body water, fat free mass, lean body mass, and body fat of the animal, as a percentage of the weight of the animal.
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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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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, 30, 31)
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Specification