Clipped colored drawings from Punch Magazine (undated)

Clipped printed color drawing of men working in a garden [Norman Thelwell, Punch Magazine 1954 May 31]; Clipped printed color drawing of two people in a lake near a sign reading, Echo Lake, by Michael Ffolkes.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/creekmore/1889/thumbnail.jp

The future of 3D body scanning within ISAK? A natural home or a conflicting toolset [Abstract only]

Introduction: Three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging, also known as body scanning or optical scanning, captures the external 3D geometry of the human body. It provides several advantages over manual measurement; quick and direct contactless measurement, retrospective or immediate analysis and the extraction of a wide variety of anthropometrics, including complex anthropometrics and morphometrics -all of which are unattainable or impractical through manual measurement. Many types of 3D imaging systems are now commercially available and being used in a wide variety of contexts around the world to provide an opportunity for innovation and progress. However, with each system using different hardware, software and computer vision techniques, and whilst some standardisation exists, there is a global call for greater standardisation and guidance to ensure correct and suitable use of, and appropriate interpretation of the data extracted from this technology in both research and practice (Seminati et al., 2017; Heymsfield et al., 2018; Ashdown, 2020). Methods: The critical evaluation of a three-month industry networking travel grant, focused on 3D body scanning and the acquisition of anthropometrics within health, sport, fashion and animal applications, that took place from September to December 2019. Results: Whilst international standards and international working groups are moving towards unified practice and standardisation, there appears to be the call for the lead of an accrediation based organisation to ensure correct use in practice and research of this technology. Conclusion: With the popularity of 3D surface imaging forecast to grow and thereby the call for standardisation set to continue, should and how can ISAK engage within this process

Comparison of depth cameras for three-dimensional Reconstruction in Medicine

KinectFusion is a typical three-dimensional reconstruction technique which enables generation of individual three-dimensional human models from consumer depth cameras for understanding body shapes. The aim of this study was to compare three-dimensional reconstruction results obtained using KinectFusion from data collected with two different types of depth camera (time-of-flight and stereoscopic cameras) and compare these results with those of a commercial three-dimensional scanning system to determine which type of depth camera gives improved reconstruction. Torso mannequins and machined aluminium cylinders were used as the test objects for this study. Two depth cameras, Microsoft Kinect V2 and Intel Realsense D435, were selected as the representatives of time-of-flight and stereoscopic cameras, respectively, to capture scan data for the reconstruction of three-dimensional point clouds by KinectFusion techniques. The results showed that both time-of-flight and stereoscopic cameras, using the developed rotating camera rig, provided repeatable body scanning data with minimal operator-induced error. However, the time-of-flight camera generated more accurate three-dimensional point clouds than the stereoscopic sensor. Thus, this suggests that applications requiring the generation of accurate three-dimensional human models by KinectFusion techniques should consider using a time-of-flight camera, such as the Microsoft Kinect V2, as the image capturing sensor

How shape-based anthropometry can complement traditional anthropometric techniques: a cross-sectional study

Abstract: Manual anthropometrics are used extensively in medical practice and epidemiological studies to assess an individual's health. However, traditional techniques reduce the complicated shape of human bodies to a series of simple size measurements and derived health indices, such as the body mass index (BMI), the waist-hip-ratio (WHR) and waist-by-height0.5 ratio (WHT.5R). Three-dimensional (3D) imaging systems capture detailed and accurate measures of external human form and have the potential to surpass traditional measures in health applications. The aim of this study was to investigate how shape measurement can complement existing anthropometric techniques in the assessment of human form. Geometric morphometric methods and principal components analysis were used to extract independent, scale-invariant features of torso shape from 3D scans of 43 male participants. Linear regression analyses were conducted to determine whether novel shape measures can complement anthropometric indices when estimating waist skinfold thickness measures. Anthropometric indices currently used in practice explained up to 52.2% of variance in waist skinfold thickness, while a combined regression model using WHT.5R and shape measures explained 76.5% of variation. Measures of body shape provide additional information regarding external human form and can complement traditional measures currently used in anthropometric practice to estimate central adiposity

A review of commercially available 3D surface imaging systems for body composition estimation

Recent literature has suggested 3D surface imaging to be a potential method of estimating body composition. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of commercially available 3D surface imaging systems that provide body composition estimates. User and system details of complete commercially available whole body 3D surface imaging systems, which estimate body composition, were collated from May to June 2022. Six 3D body surface imaging systems were identified, each of which provided varying amounts of user and system details. As this information is necessary to ensure the correct selection of system, appropriate use, and interpretation of outputs, manufacturers should seek to publicly present more detailed user and system details, international standards groups and training associations should seek to encourage standardisation, and practitioners and researchers should request additional details where necessary and validate their system prior to use, and end users should cautiously interpret outputs without the availability of comprehensive user and system details

Exploring athletes’ perceptions of coach stress in elite sport environments

The present study aimed to extend research that has focused on the identification of stressors associated with coaching practice by systematically evaluating how such stressors effect athletes, and more broadly, the coach-athlete relationship. A total of 13 professional and national level athletes were interviewed to address the three study aims: how they detect when a coach is encountering stressors; how coach experiences of stress effects them as an athlete; and, how effective the coach is when experiencing stress. Following content analysis, the data suggested athletes were able to detect when a coach was experiencing stress and this was typically via a variety of verbal and behavioural cues. Despite some positive effects of the coach experiencing stress, the majority were negative and varied across a range of personal influences on the athlete, and effects on the general coaching environment. It was also the broad view of the athletes that coaches were less effective when stressed, and this was reflected in performance expectations, perceptions of competence, and lack of awareness. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing theory and with reference to their implications for applied practice, future research, and development of the coach athlete relationship

Within and between-day variation and associations of symptoms in Long Covid: intensive longitudinal study

Background: People with Long Covid (Post Covid-19 Condition) describe multiple symptoms which vary between and within individuals over relatively short time intervals. We aimed to describe the real-time associations between different symptoms and between symptoms and physical activity at the individual patient level. Methods and findings: Intensive longitudinal study of 82 adults with self-reported Long Covid (median duration 12–18 months). Data collection involved a smartphone app with 5 daily entries over 14 days and continuous wearing of a wrist accelerometer. Data items included 7 symptoms (Visual Analog Scales) and perceived demands in the preceding period (Likert scales). Activity was measured using mean acceleration in the 3-hour periods preceding and following app data entry. Analysis used within-person correlations of symptoms pairs and both pooled and individual symptom networks derived from graphical vector autoregression. App data was suitable for analysis from 74 participants (90%) comprising 4022 entries representing 77.6% of possible entries. Symptoms varied substantially within individuals and were only weakly autocorrelated. The strongest between-subject symptom correlations were of fatigue with pain (partial coefficient 0.5) and cognitive difficulty with light-headedness (0.41). Pooled within-subject correlations showed fatigue correlated with cognitive difficulty (partial coefficient 0.2) pain (0.19) breathlessness (0.15) and light-headedness (0.12) but not anxiety. Cognitive difficulty was correlated with anxiety and light-headedness (partial coefficients 0.16 and 0.17). Individual participant correlation heatmaps and symptom networks showed no clear patterns indicative of distinct phenotypes. Symptoms, including fatigue, were inconsistently correlated with prior or subsequent physical activity: this may reflect adjustment of activity in response to symptoms. Delayed worsening of symptoms after the highest activity peak was observed in 7 participants. Conclusion: Symptoms of Long Covid vary within individuals over short time scales, with heterogenous patterns of symptom correlation. The findings are compatible with altered central symptom processing as an additional factor in Long Covid

Advanced Body Measurement Techniques Can Complement Current Methods of Cytotoxic Chemotherapy Dose Prescription

Within chemotherapy, estimates of a patient’s body surface area (BSA) are used to calculate drug dosages. However, the use of BSA for calculating chemotherapy dosage has been heavily criticised in previous literature, with potentially significant implications for the effectiveness and toxicity of treatment. BSA has been found to be a poor indicator of optimal drug exposure that does not account for the complex processes of cytotoxic drug distribution and elimination. In addition, differences in BSA estimates between existing formulae have been shown to be so large that they can affect patients’ mortality, particularly in patients with atypical body types. This uncertainty associated with BSA prediction may decrease the confidence of practitioners when determining chemotherapy dosages, particularly with regards to the risk of excess toxicity from over-dosing, or a reduced anti-cancer effect due to under-dosing. The use of national dose-banding in the UK may in some cases account for possible inaccuracies, but the threshold of variance in this case is small (+/− 6%). Advanced body measurement techniques, utilising digital tools such as three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging, capture accurate external dimensions and detailed shape characteristics of the human body. Measures of body shape describe morphological variations that cannot be identified by traditional anthropometric techniques and improve the prediction of total body fat and distribution. It is our view that the use of advanced body measurement techniques can provide practitioners with tools for prescribing chemotherapy dosages that are valid for individuals, regardless of their body type

Exploring athletes’ perceptions of coach stress in elite sport environments

The present study aimed to extend research that has focused on the identification of stressors associated with coaching practice by systematically evaluating how such stressors effect athletes, and more broadly, the coach-athlete relationship. A total of 13 professional and national level athletes were interviewed to address the three study aims: how they detect when a coach is encountering stressors; how coach experiences of stress effects them as an athlete; and, how effective the coach is when experiencing stress. Following content analysis, the data suggested athletes were able to detect when a coach was experiencing stress and this was typically via a variety of verbal and behavioural cues. Despite some positive effects of the coach experiencing stress, the majority were negative and varied across a range of personal influences on the athlete, and effects on the general coaching environment. It was also the broad view of the athletes that coaches were less effective when stressed, and this was reflected in performance expectations, perceptions of competence, and lack of awareness. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing theory and with reference to their implications for applied practice, future research, and development of the coach athlete relationship