Overview
Many researchers and clinicians acknowledge that body composition assessment provides a much better gauge of infant growth and nutritional status than length and weight (anthropometric) measurements. A reliable body composition analysis helps provide the vital information necessary to assess the effectiveness of diet and medical interventions, especially in low birth weight infants.
This need for an accurate, safe and noninvasive method for measuring body composition in infants led to the development of the PEA POD Infant Body Composition Tracking System. The PEA POD is an Air Displacement Plethysmograph which uses whole-body densitometry to determine body composition (fat and fat-free mass) in infants ranging in size from 2.2 lbs (1kg) to 17.6 lbs (8 kg). It is a complete turnkey system based on the same patented Air Displacement Plethysmography as the BOD POD® Body Composition Tracking System, which has been used successfully for assessing the body composition of children and adults since 1994.
PEA POD Highlights:
- Uses the most advanced technology.
- Accurate and precise based on research findings.
- Safe - non-invasive and ideally suited for repeated testing.
- Short test time.
- Accommodates most infant behaviors.
- Comfortable testing environment.
- Simple – menu-driven software with data management capability.
- No special technician licenses required.
- Mobile – device can be rolled to bedside locations.
The PEA POD is extremely simple to operate, with software prompts guiding the operator through each step of the process. There are no compliance issues, and the temperature-controlled test chamber provides a comfortable test environment for the infant. A complete analysis takes only about 7 minutes.
The precision, accuracy, and reliability of the PEA POD have been validated through various independent research studies. See PEA POD Research for more information.
