The concept and development of digital imaging originated from a lecture at the University of Siena (Italy) in a specialized clinical nutrition course for physicians. “While waiting for the physicians to get seated and with the lecture hall light dimmed, I noticed that the light at the entry door was modulating in proportion to the size of the individuals passing through the area of the door opening. Specifically, wide-bodied individuals blocked more background light than smaller ones. Voila, the concept emerged that body surface, size, and shape directly affected the relationship between background and silhouette in a fixed area!” The proportion (%) of an object (individual/silhouette) filling a frame (doorway) of known dimensions could be exploited to measure its surface/volume, regardless of the distance between an observer and the frame.
Body composition is a universal term used in the health and fitness industry. Doctors mainly use body composition to determine what percentage of body weight is muscle and what percentage is fat. It is particularly important that the measurement results can be easily reproduced under everyday working conditions in medicine.
Fat mass distribution also plays a significant role: the health risk is greater with visceral fat accumulation (in the abdominal region) than with fat accumulation in the hips. This visceral fat produces many fatty acids, which are converted into other fats in the liver. The increase in internal abdominal fat, therefore, also increases the risk of secondary diseases, in particular, the following diseases and symptoms occur more frequently: heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and Alzheimer’s
Accurate body composition assessment is crucial because people of the same height, weight, and, consequently, BMI have different percentages of body fat and muscle. A bodybuilder would almost certainly be obese if BMI were used to assess overweight. Therefore, BMI has only limited significance.
BIA devices measure the resistance of the current on its “path” through the body and provide an accurate assessment of body water, i.e., lean and muscle mass and hydration. Body fat is calculated from the impedance values using selected equations. It cannot be determined which body regions the body fat is located in.
As a complex, high-resolution procedure, Magnetic Resonance Imaging can measure both the subcutaneous and visceral fat volume with good precision. However, for routine purposes, the process is still too complex and too expensive.
The Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) measurement simultaneously uses two energetically slightly different X-ray sources. In this way, the different types of tissue (bone, muscle, and fat tissue) can be distinguished and compared. The method analyzes the composition of the individual body regions, which is complex but very precise but costs far too much for screening purposes.
For the first time, the FYO system analyzes abdominal fat mass with little effort and at a meager cost. With a single lateral photo, the fat, lean, and abdominal mass, as well as the diameter of countless body regions, are determined. In a validation study, the high accuracy and reproducibility of the results were checked using the best reference methods (DEXA).
The increase in fat mass, especially abdominal fat mass, is a valuable indicator in weight management, diabetology, nutritional medicine, and general medicine. The key figure WHtR (Waist-to-Height Ratio) is considered the best indicator to assess cardio-metabolic risk. The revolutionary FYO system has improved the reproducibility of tape measurements.
FYO was developed based on an intuition resulting from decades of body composition experience. Subsequently, it was patented and published in peer-reviewed scientific papers. Unlike other body composition analyses, the results are independent of age, physical condition, and ethnicity.
The method is based on a lateral photo promptly conditioned to a monochrome silhouette with shape analysis. The results are derived from real, objective measurements accompanied by references and standards.
The FYO system calculates body composition using a lateral profile photo. The original human image is automatically and immediately detected and extracted to be transformed into a black-and-white profile. The FYO app has a control system that controls camera tilt and distance. The picture can only be completed if the subject’s posture, camera position, and tilt are correct.
The results go directly into the management system, where they are transformed into easy-to-use data and graphics. Our services include many options, such as silhouette overlaps and height-to-waist ratios, to determine metabolic risks or daily caloric needs.
We offer different solutions based on our client's needs.
Among these solutions, we have:
