3D Scanning for Improved Malnutrition Assessment in Conflict Areas
By Body Surface Translations, Inc.
Malnutrition and stunting remain a massive problem in the world, especially among children living in conflict affected areas. Manual measurement to determine malnutrition has been the standard for decades, with challenges like cumbersome equipment and inaccuracy. Measurements are often not transferred from paper to digital records or they are incomplete. Without better data, scarce resources will be sub-optimally applied and individuals risk missing out on life-altering, early treatment. Global responses to malnutrition in conflict settings must be informed by more accurate and faster data.
Body Surface Translations has developed AutoAnthro, a 3D scanning system which captures field-based measurements and proportions of the human body, enabling easier easier, faster, more accurate, digital measurements to improve individual and population-level outcomes for malnutrition. By capturing quick scans of children and developing a 3D model from which a variety of data can be extracted, AutoAnthro can measure length/height, mid upper arm circumference (MUAC), and head circumference for children ages 0-5 years. AutoAnthro will allow the nutritional status of vulnerable populations to be better captured, assessed, distributed, and acted upon. Health workers can capture body measurements more quickly and more accurately, making sure that limited resources are allocated correctly, to those who need it most.
