Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Nov 8:6:36052.
doi: 10.1038/srep36052.

Length-free near infrared measurement of newborn malnutrition

Fatin Hamimi Mustafa  1 , Emily J Bek  1 , Jacqueline Huvanandana  1 , Peter W Jones  1 , Angela E Carberry  1 , Heather E Jeffery  1   2   3 , Craig T Jin  1 , Alistair L McEwan  1
Affiliations

Length-free near infrared measurement of newborn malnutrition

Fatin Hamimi Mustafa et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

This project was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Scheme OPP1111820. All authors received a salary or scholarship funding from The University of Sydney who have filed a provisional patent. The authors declare that they are bound by confidentiality agreements that prevent them from disclosing their financial interests in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Near-infrared body fat measurement set up.
Dotted object is the cosine corrector.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Absorption coefficient spectrum of melanin, absorption coefficient spectrum of pure water, absorption coefficient spectrum of pure fat and absorption coefficient spectrum of subcutaneous fat layer and scattering coefficient spectrum of subcutaneous fat layer.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Near-infrared reflection from the anterior and medial thighs of the highest and lowest BF% of two subjects in each cohort (a) with cosine corrector, (b) without cosine corrector.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Residual plots of NIR BF% and ADP BF% with white skin subjects (total n = 52: n = 26 for each cohort).
Plot (a) NIR with cosine corrector on anterior thigh, (b) NIR with cosine corrector on medial thigh, (c) NIR without cosine corrector on anterior thigh while (d) NIR without cosine corrector on medial thigh.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Linear regression lines of NIR BF% and ADP BF% with white skin subjects (total n = 52: n = 26 for each cohort).
Plot (a) NIR with cosine corrector on anterior thigh, (b) NIR with cosine corrector on medial thigh, (c) NIR without cosine corrector on anterior thigh while (d) NIR without cosine corrector on medial thigh.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Levitsky D. A. & Strupp B. J. Malnutrition and the brain: changing concepts, changing concerns. The Journal of nutrition 125, 2212S–2220S (1995). - PubMed
    1. Organization W. H. World health statistics 2010. (World Health Organization, 2010).
    1. Wells J. & Fewtrell M. Measuring body composition. Archives of disease in childhood 91, 612–617 (2006). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carberry A. E., Raynes-Greenow C. H., Turner R. M., Askie L. M. & Jeffery H. E. Is body fat percentage a better measure of undernutrition in newborns than birth weight percentiles? Pediatric research 74, 730–736 (2013). - PubMed
    1. Christensen K. & Kushner R. Measuring body fat in the clinical setting. Obesity Management 3, 93–95 (2007).

Publication types

MeSH terms