Noninvasive Portable Visceral Fat Measurement Using Ultra Wideband Radar

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Of the body's fat depots, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) specifically has been shown to strongly correlated to metabolic disorders and diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart failure as compared to subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) or overall obesity. Furthermore, reduction of VAT is associated with a reduction of metabolic risk factors. Determination of VAT is therefore of high clinical importance, however, current methods to determine VAT are inaccurate, costly, or inconvenient. To meet the need for a more accurate, low cost, easy to use, portable device suitable for the convenient determination of an individual's VAT and obesity in general, PhiloMetron proposes to utilize ultra wideband radar (UWR). Accordingly the objective of this Phase 1 proposal is to assess the ability of UWR to determine the amounts of abdominal body adipose tissue, in particular to quantify SAT and VAT, in model systems. Upon successful completion of these Phase I studies, planned Phase II studies will include validating the use of the technology in the determination of abdominal fat, including VAT, in obese or overweight individuals. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Most of the major chronic diseases impacting the US healthcare systems are being driven by the obesity epidemic. There is a need to create a clinically effective weight management program that can be used to lose and maintain a person's weight to limit the long-term economic and societal impact. These weight management plans need efficacious diet and exercise plans to successfully lose and maintain weight. Currently, weight is the most often used physiological measurement to determine success of the patient's diet and/or exercise, but is a grossly insensitive measurement. More importantly, determination of regional body fat depots is showing increasing importance in obesity and wellness management however weight determinations are incapable of distinguishing between these fat depots. Of the body's fat depots, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) specifically has been shown to strongly correlated to metabolic disorders and diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart failure as compared to subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) or overall obesity. Furthermore, reduction of VAT is associated with a reduction of metabolic risk factors. Determination of VAT is therefore of high clinical importance, however, current methods to determine VAT are inaccurate, costly, or inconvenient. The objective of this Phase I proposal is to establish a foundation for the use of a potentially breakthrough technology for the measurement of VAT.