Marco Tesini is a doctor graduated in Food Science and specialized in Medical Informatics in the nutrition field. Thanks to the solution suggested by EGS, Dr. Marco Tesini improved his work and made it more precise and reliable.
More than half of Italians (56%) declared themselves to be on a diet (source EURISPES), however not all of them follow a balanced diet and know if it is better to lose weight or centimeters (fat is measured in circumferences). The nutritionist and dietician have to teach what are the best eating habits to follow and, in case of overweight, to determine the right strategy that does not involve damage to health. 3D scanning is becoming increasingly important and useful in medical applications field; the possibilities of making accurate measurements of the human face, body and other details increase using a 3D scanner. As each person is unique, doctors may use this information to provide their patients personalized services. This case study shows how valuable 3D solutions for dieticians can be.
About a year ago Dr. Tesini asked EGS to find a 3D solution allowing to improve his work and make it more precise and reliable. The suggested solution includes the Artec MHT body scanner combined with Leios software, designed by EGS. This is an easy to use and to handle 3D scanner, designed to accurately determine the real level of overweight or underweight of a person. It works in a non-invasive way, it doesn’t require any contact, and it can easily be used thanks to its manageability; it allows the quick scan of both static and dynamic objects. During the examination, an anthropometric body analysis is executed thanks to the body scanner measuring and comparing distances, circumferences, areas and body volumes. Therefore it is a much more accurate examination, which takes into account precise human body measurements. Evaluating the distribution of body masses, anthropometry can establish the relationship between the skinny masses and the fat masses. All obtained data are essential to determine how much weight the person should put on or lose.
Dieticians are able to determine how much weight the patients should lose and from which areas of the body they should eliminate fat. Thanks to this solution it is possible to see the human body in 3D from every angle, with each of its parts, focusing specifically on the part you want to study. Moreover it allows to follow the body changes during the weight loss program. Comparing the 3D body scans done before and during the diet, dietitians can show their patients the changes in their body. People who receive visual confirmation of the effectiveness of the diet are thus further inclined to continue it in order to reach their ideal weight. The scanning process lasts for about 3-4 minutes, during which the machine records the data of the area between the shoulders and the knees. This is the average time, which may increase or decrease depending on the characteristics of the patient and the needs of the doctor, but that in no case exceeds the ten minutes.
Regarding the post processing, the time required is a bit longer: this is due to the amount of details contained in the image, the dimensions of which are normally equal to about 500 mega for the front part and more than 500 mega for the rear one. Obviously if the circumference of the patient is great, the image will become heavier and it will take more time to process it. After a short training period to become familiar with the tool, mainly complex in the software, now the doctor considers this solution an essential support to his profession. He also noticed that his patients have been very curious about this innovative technique. The difficulty will be represented by the attempt to change the culture of nutritionists and dieticians, in order to convince them that automatic measurements are the future in this area and how 3D solutions for dieticians can be used.
