Patent ID: 7711411

Claim:
A method for determining the total body fat of a living human organism using an FT-NIR analytical technique, said method comprising the steps of: (a) directing a beam of light in the near-infrared frequency range from a light source to a subcutaneous layer test site of the body of the living human organism, wherein said beam of light is swept over a pre-determined frequency band of light in the near-infrared frequency range, and wherein said test site is defined by a portion of the body of the living human organism having an epidermis layer, a dermis layer, and said subcutaneous layer, and is subtended by bone or cartilage; (b) detecting light reflected from said test site of the body of the living human organism by a detector; (c) recording the intensity of energy absorptions in said reflected light in the form of an interferogram as a function of time; (d) performing Fourier Transform calculations to the data in said interferogram so as to convert said data in said interferogram to a spectrum; (e) extracting from said spectrum information concerning specific frequencies and intensity of energy absorptions at said specific frequencies so as to calculate a response value; and (f) determining the total body fat content by incorporating said response value from step (e) into an empirical formula wherein said empirical formula is: Female: TBF=64.719 N*W 0.51456 *H 0.42246 /(−0.001 A+0.989)W Male: TBF=64.719 N*W 0.51456 *H 0.42246 /(−0.003 A+0.9971)W where TBF is the total body fat in percent, N is said response value, W is the weight in kilograms, H is the height in centimeters, and A is the age in years of the living human organism.