Editing Anthropometry (section)

==Measuring instruments==

===3D body scanners===
Today anthropometry can be performed with [[3D body scanning|three-dimensional scanners]]. A global collaborative study to examine the uses of three-dimensional scanners for health care was launched in March 2007. The Body Benchmark Study will investigate the use of three-dimensional scanners to calculate volumes and segmental volumes of an individual body scan. The aim is to establish whether the [[Body volume index|Body Volume Index]] has the potential to be used as a long-term computer-based anthropometric measurement for health care. In 2001 the UK conducted the largest sizing survey to date using scanners. Since then several national surveys have followed in the UK's pioneering steps, notably SizeUSA, SizeMexico, and SizeThailand, the latter still ongoing. SizeUK showed that the nation had become taller and heavier but not as much as expected. Since 1951, when the last women's survey had taken place, the average weight for women had gone up from 62 to 65&nbsp;kg. However, recent research has shown that posture of the participant significantly influences the measurements taken,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gill|first1=Simeon|last2=Parker|first2=Christopher J.|title=Scan posture definition and hip girth measurement: the impact on clothing design and body scanning|journal=Ergonomics|volume=60|issue=8|pages=1123–1136|doi=10.1080/00140139.2016.1251621|pmid=27764997|year=2017|s2cid=23758581|url=https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/33471}}</ref> the precision of 3D body scanner may or may not be high enough for industry tolerances,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Parker|first1=Christopher J.|last2=Gill|first2=Simeon|last3=Hayes|first3=Steven G.|title=3D Body Scanning has Suitable Reliability: An Anthropometric Investigation for Garment Construction|journal=Proc. Of 3DBODY.TECH 2017 – 8th Int. Conf. And Exh. On 3D Body Scanning and Processing Technologies|date=2017|pages=298–305|doi=10.15221/17.298|isbn=9783033064362}}</ref> and measurements taken may or may not be relevant to all applications (e.g. garment construction).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gill|first1=Simeon|last2=Ahmed|first2=Maryam|last3=Parker|first3=Christopher J.|last4=Hayes|first4=Steven G.|title=Not All Body Scanning Measurements are Valid: Perspectives from Pattern Practice|journal=Proc. Of 3DBODY.TECH 2017 – 8th Int. Conf. And Exh. On 3D Body Scanning and Processing Technologies|date=2017|pages=43–52|doi=10.15221/17.043|isbn=9783033064362}}</ref> Despite these current limitations, 3D body scanning has been suggested as a replacement for body measurement prediction technologies which (despite the great appeal) have yet to be as reliable as real human data.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Januszkiewicz|first1=Monika|last2=Parker|first2=Christopher J.|last3=Hayes|first3=Steven G.|last4=Gill|first4=Simeon|title=Online Virtual Fit Is Not Yet Fit For Purpose: An Analysis Of Fashion e-Commerce Interfaces|journal=Proc. Of 3DBODY.TECH 2017 – 8th Int. Conf. And Exh. On 3D Body Scanning and Processing Technologies|date=2017|pages=210–217|doi=10.15221/17.210|isbn=9783033064362}}</ref>

===Baropodographic===
{{main|Baropodography}}
[[File:example insole pressure device.jpg|thumb|Example insole (in-shoe) foot pressure measurement device]]
Baropodographic devices fall into two main categories: (i) [[:File:example foot pressure measurement device.jpg|floor-based]], and (ii) [[:File:example insole pressure device.jpg|in-shoe]]. The underlying technology is diverse, ranging from [[piezoelectric sensor]] arrays to [[light refraction]],<ref name="Lord1981">Lord M 1981. Foot pressure measurement: a review of methodology. J Biomed Eng 3 91–9.</ref><ref name="Gefen2007">Gefen A 2007. Pressure-sensing devices for assessment of [[soft tissue]] loading under bony prominences: technological concepts and clinical utilization. Wounds 19 350–62.</ref><ref name="Cobb1995">Cobb J, Claremont DJ 1995. Transducers for foot pressure measurement: survey of recent developments. Med Biol Eng Comput 33 525–32.</ref><ref name="Rosenbaum1997">Rosenbaum D, Becker HP 1997. Plantar pressure distribution measurements: technical background and clinical applications. J Foot Ankle Surg 3 1–14.</ref><ref name="Orlin2000">Orlin MN, McPoil TG 2000. Plantar pressure assessment. Phys Ther 80 399–409.</ref> but the ultimate form of the data generated by all modern technologies is either a 2D image or a 2D image [[time series]] of the pressures acting under the plantar surface of the foot. From these data other variables may be calculated (see ''[[Pedobarography#Data analysis|data analysis]].'')

The spatial and temporal resolutions of the images generated by commercial pedobarographic systems range from approximately 3 to 10&nbsp;mm and 25 to 500&nbsp;Hz, respectively. Sensor technology limits finer resolution. Such resolutions yield a [[contact area]] of approximately 500 sensors (for a typical adult human foot with surface area of approximately 100&nbsp;cm<sup>2</sup>).<ref name="Britane2004">Birtane M, Tuna H 2004. The evaluation of plantar pressure distribution in obese and non-obese adults. Clin Biomech 19 1055–9.</ref> For a stance phase duration of approximately 0.6 seconds during normal walking,<ref name="Blanc1999">Blanc Y, Balmer C, Landis T, Vingerhoets F 1999. Temporal parameters and patterns of the foot roll during walking: normative data for healthy adults. Gait & Posture 10 97–108.</ref> approximately 150,000 pressure values, depending on the hardware specifications, are recorded for each step.

===Neuroimaging===
{{see also|Neuroimaging}}
Direct measurements involve examinations of brains from corpses, or more recently, imaging techniques such as [[MRI]], which can be used on living persons. Such measurements are used in research on [[neuroscience and intelligence]]. Brain volume data and other craniometric data are used in mainstream science to compare modern-day animal species and to analyze the evolution of the human species in archeology.