Cole-Impedance Model Representations of Right-Side Segmental Arm, Leg, and Full-Body Bioimpedances of Healthy Adults: Comparison of Fractional-Order

The passive electrical properties of a biological tissue, referred to as the tissue bioimpedance, are related to the underlying tissue physiology. These measurements are often well-represented by a fractional-order equivalent circuit model, referred to as the Cole-impedance model. Objective: Identify if there are differences in the fractional-order (alpha) of the Cole-impedance parameters that represent the segmental right-body, right-arm, and right-leg of adult participants. Hypothesis: Cole-impedance model parameters often associated with tissue geometry and fluid (R-infinity, R-1, C) will be different between body segments, but parameters often associated with tissue type (alpha) will not show any statistical differences. Approach: A secondary analysis was applied to a dataset collected for an agreement study between bioimpedance spectroscopy devices and dual-energy X-ray absoptiometry, identifying the Cole-model parameters of the right-side body segments of N = 174 participants using a particle swarm optimization approach. Statistical testing was applied to the different groups of Cole-model parameters to evaluate group differences and correlations of parameters with tissue features. Results: All Cole-impedance model parameters showed statistically significant differences between body segments. Significance: The physiological or geometric features of biological tissues that are linked with the fractional-order (alpha) of data represented by the Cole-impedance model requires further study to elucidate.

Automated summary

This study showed statistically significant differences in the Cole-impedance model parameters between different body segments, indicating a need for further research into the physiological or geometric features of biological tissues linked with the fractional-order (alpha) represented by the Cole-impedance model.