Propagation of Measurement Errors Through Body Composition Equations for Body Impedance Analysis

In this paper, we present a framework to analyze the propagation of measurement errors through the body composition equations. This is done through the equations for body composition assessment (BCA), for single/multifrequency (SF, MF) body impedance analysis (BIA) approaches. We show that it is possible to estimate a priori the error variance on the BCA parameters from the error measurement in the weight, height, and impedance. The theoretical results are validated through the simulation and experimental data coming from the low-cost AFE4300 impedance spectrometer developed by Texas Instruments. This new spectrometer has been calibrated and characterized by performing measurements on phantoms and foot-to-foot body impedance measurements. The influence of the number of measurement frequencies on the accuracy of BCA is also studied for MF-BIA approach. Ultimately, the measurement error framework can be used to evaluate the suitability of an impedance system for BIA.