Public Funding for Select Research LTD.

Project ShapeGB seeks to provide an App that can be used to automate the measurement of a person’s size using a new method; body volume. The App will use two photographs (2D images) from any Smart mobile technology. This will provide a virtual image of the person that will be stored in the cloud and can be recalled and matched, either in-store or on-line, by the customer to actual garments that will fit the customer, thus eliminating the inconvenience, time and cost of returning garments that do not fit. The customer experience will be enhanced through the use of this new innovative technology that just needs a smart mobile phone or tablet. We plan to recruit a minimum of 30,000 and potentially up to 50,000 volunteers through our seven retail consortium partners in order to accelerate use of the use of body volume system adapted to measure weight distribution, body shape and then ultimately offer the customer the correct size based on their own weight distribution and body shape.

Richard Barnes conceived and patented the idea of Body Volume Measurement combining 3D data with the calculation of total and visceral fat using algorithms to be applied to healthcare, obesity management and weight loss management using mobile devices. The patent is now separately granted in 30 EU countries and in the US. BMI is preferred because it is easy and low cost to interpret whereas MRI and CT, the gold standard for quantification of fat levels and distribution are slow and expensive. However, BMI does not give a proper indication of fat distribution particularly visceral fat i.e. the fat stored around the body organs. Select Research's technique known as BVI measures the body volume from two photographs of the front and side of the patient wearing tight fitting clothes. Algorithms analyse the photographs and based on gender, age, ethnicity, weight and height and utilising a library of MRI scans can accurately predict ±3% for adults the total body fat and its distribution including visceral fat with an accuracy of ±5% within 1 minute. The technology can be used both in the home or primary health clinic and shows whether a person has excessive visceral fat and is at risk.

The UK has higher levels of obesity/overweight people than anywhere in Western Europe; the cost to the NHS is £5.1b, and to the economy £27b each year. Excessive amounts of visceral fat (abdominal fat around important internal organs) can lead to increased risks for many conditions including; stroke, depression, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and asthma. Characterising the composition of body fat, important for diagnosing and treating obesity and excess weight, is NOT provided by measuring BMI (Body Mass Index). Currently quantifying visceral fat requires expensive equipment such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and surrogates for visceral fat (e.g. waist circumference) are subjective and unreliable. The BMI remains as the preferred measure only through convenience and low cost. Our technology is an innovative, easy to use, mHealth service to determine the percentage and distribution of visceral fat using a tablet or smart phone. This project proposes to provide clinical validation for the underpinning methodology, as well as arguments to persuade potential customers of the benefits (social and economic) of utilising the service.

A specialist expert in the 3D technology field within the West Midlands at a leading and established University.