The Modelling of Bariatric Populations in Digital Human Modelling Systems

The increase of the population that exhibits a Body Mass Index above 30 kg/m2 (bariatric populations) pose design challenges. In health care these challenges are particularly acute as they limit access for patients to key diagnostic tools such as MRI. There are also increasing numbers of bariatric staff in these settings which causes accessibility problems for staff interacting with medical equipment and patients whilst performing medical procedures and other care tasks. This paper presents initial work in the modelling of bariatric populations in a DHM system, utilizing data gathered in previous work from a sample of 100 bariatric people. The data associated with this sample included 13 anthropometric measures and a classification of overall form. The paper describes the process by which these data were used to model specific individuals in the SAMMIE DHM system. The challenges associated with defining a representative body form using these measures are presented along the subsequent application of the Bariatric digital personas in the design process for medical equipment.