Scales & Body Composition Analyzer

Overview

Scales and body composition analyzers have recently become more prevalent due to an increased awareness of health management. They are now becoming more popular not only in healthcare facilities and in exercise equipment, but also in ordinary households. The trend for these analyzers is towards multifunctionality that will measure dozens of disparate items such as bone density, body fat ratio, and muscle mass. These analyzers deploy an AC signal which is introduced into the body as an ultra small current by a low pass filter comprised of an op-amp and a constant current circuit. Body composition data is obtained by measuring the body’s impedance. Designs of scales and body composition analyzer require large-capacity memory in order to store measurement data for multiple users. Since they operate on dry cell batteries, low power consumption and extended battery life are essential.

Renesas’ 78K0R/Lx3 and the R8C/Lx Series of MCUs integrate on-chip A/D and D/A converter functions necessary for measurement and an LCD drive circuit for display. They also have large capacity on-chip flash memory and consume little power, making them an ideal fit for this application.