Bioelectrical impedance methods in clinical research: A follow-up to the NIH technology assessment conference

In 1994, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened a Technology Asse ssment Conference "to provide physicians with a responsible assessment of b ioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology for body composition measu rement." In 1997, Serono Symposia USA, Inc., organized an invited panel of scientists and clinicians, with extensive research and clinical experience with BLA, to provide an update. Panel members presented reviews based on th eir own work and published studies for the intervening years. Updates were provided on the single and multifrequency BIA methods and models; continued clinical research experiences; efforts toward establishing population refe rence norms; and the feasibility of establishing guidelines for potential d iagnostic use of BIA in a clinical setting. This report provides a summary of the panel's findings including a consensus on several technical and clin ical issues related to the research use of BIA, and those areas that are st ill in need of additional study. (C) Elsevier Science Inc. 1999.