The Equipment

The equipment from the Labs in Life research project first moved back to OSU campus in 2012 initially located in the Martha Morehouse Pavilion Sports Medicine research space on the second floor (old gymnasium).  In 2017, we were blessed with the Jameson Crane Sports Medicine Institute, and the iDXA and resting metabolic rate machine are now located on the second floor of that facility.  Sports Nutrition was also fortunate to get some research monies from a generous donor and purchased a VO2 testing system with the funds.  We can now assess the total athlete to help formulate nutrition suggestions to help athletes meet their individual goals.

IDXA

The iDXA stands for intelligent dual x-ray absorptiometry and retails for over $180,000 dollars. As seen in the picture, there is a sliding arm which contains an upper portion (sticks out over the subject) and a lower portion (moves underneath the subject) positioned at one end of the machine. A person lays on the machine with the feet slightly apart, the arms moved slightly away from the body and the spine in line with the middle line of the scan table. A full body scan takes just under 7 minutes to perform during which time, the sliding arm moves from its position above the head slowly down the body towards and then past the feet. The lower portion emits two, low-dose x-rays which pass through the subjects body while the top portion determines how many of each type of x-ray come through the body. By a mathematical calculation based on the x-rays coming through the body, we are able to get a picture of the bones of the body, the muscle tissue and the fat tissue. We are also able to figure out exactly where each of those tissues is located on the body and how much is present. In other words, we can determine how much fat is in the stomach region, how much bone is in the lower spine region and how much muscle is in the left arm. While the iDXA is multi-faceted, the the primary use in research is to evaluate overall bone density.

RMR

The ReeVue indirect calorimeter helps us understand your resting metabolic rate.  The machine actually measures the oxygen content from your expired air to estimate the amount of oxygen your body is consuming.  From oxygen, calories can be estimated assuming a regular mixed diet and resting state. Many times, a person diets hard and is not losing weight, this machine allows us to think about how your metabolic rate might fit into that frustration.

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View our 360 of the DXA room!

 

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