Measuring lower leg swelling: optimum frequency for impedance method.

The optimum measuring frequency of the impedance plethysmograph is determined for the estimation of leg volume increase caused by a sitting work load. Ten subjects sit for 1 h without leg movement. Right calf impedance is measured by the four-electrode method. The detecting electrodes are fixed on the calf with an inter-electrode distance of 15 cm. The measuring frequencies are 5, 10, 50 and 100 kHz. As the indices of leg swelling, three values are calculated: percentage change in impedance, volume change and percentage change in volume. The mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation (CV) are calculated from the mean values of indices for each subject and frequency. The CV of all three indices increases when measurements are taken at higher frequencies. Among the three indices across all measuring frequencies, the volume change shows the highest CV (0.42 at 5 kHz, 0.82 at 100 kHz), and the percentage change in impedance shows the lowest CV (0.32 at 5 kHz, 0.72 at 100 kHz). It is concluded that the measuring frequency of 5 to 10 kHz is the best to obtain accurate data for the evaluation of lower leg swelling.