IMPROVED DIGITAL SKINFOLD CALIPER FOR THE AGED

THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A COMPUTER-BASED "SMART" SKINFOLD THICKNESS CALIPER SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FORUSE WITH THE GERIATRIC POPULATION. THE DESIGN GOAL IS TO COMPENSATE FOR DIFFERENCES IN SKINFOLD COMPRESSIBILITY, VARIATIONS DUE TO MEASUREMENT SITE, AND PHYSICAL EXTREMES WITHIN THE SUBJECT POPULATION. A NUMBER OF MAJOR DESIGN CHANGES FOR SKINFOLD CALIPERS ALREADY HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATEDAND INCORPORATED INTO A CALIPER DEVELOPED UNDER A PREVIOUS STUDY SPECIFICALLY TARGETED TO THE ADOLESCENT AND YOUNG ADULT POPULATION. THE INTENT OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO INCORPORATE THE EARLIER IMPROVEMENTS IN A NEW INSTRUMENT DESIGNED TO PRODUCE MORE ACCURATE SKINFOLD MEASUREMENTS UNDER THE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS POSED BY THE OLDER AGE GROUP. PRIOR TO DEVELOPING THIS SPECIALIZED INSTRUMENT, WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE PARAMETERS THAT LIMIT ACCURATE MEASUREMENT IN THE OLDER POPULATION AND THE DESIGN CHANGES THAT OPTIMIZE SKINFOLD MEASURES. CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF A PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT WILL FULFILL PHASE I GOALS.