To accurately measure the
muscle mass, body-fat ratio and / or other information of the subject, the
human body is divided into nine segments including the
trunk, right and left forearms, right and left
upper arms, right and
left thigh, and right and left crura. Four distal
voltage-measuring points Pv are determined at the wrists and ankles, and four proximal
voltage-measuring points Pv are determined at the elbows and knees.
Four current-carrying electrodes and four measuring electrodes are used. First, the measuring electrodes are attached to distal points, and the impedances of four limbs and the
trunk are measured. Then, the measuring electrodes are moved to proximal points, and the impedances of four limbs and the
trunk are measured. From the measurement result, the measurement value is calculated for each segment. Then, using
estimation formulae created by a
regression analysis based on the data collected with an MRI, the
body composition such as a
muscle mass is estimated from the measurement values of the impedances and body specific information including the height, weight, etc.