Research - Lymphoedema

Lymphoedema can pose diagnostic challenged, particularly in its early stages. Conventional assessment measures suffer from varying degrees of invasiveness and imprecision. In this context, the potential current and future applicability of multifrequency bioimpedance analysis (MFBIA) is discussed.

Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) devices are routinely used in the assessment of breast cancer related lymphedema (BCRL). The equipotential electrode placement is a commonly used protocol for the assessment of BCRL. However, the sternal notch electrode placement protocol is also in use. Whether these two protocols are interchangeable is not known.

The evolution of lymphoedema during physical treatment appears quite easy to measure, especially if we limit ourselves to considering the decrease in its volume, and furthermore if we limit the volume’s measurement to the geometry of the arms, forearms, legs and thighs to a cylinder (lymphoedema reside mostly in these anatomical segments). On the other hand if we want to observe more complex anatomical areas such as the breast or scrotum, and especially when we take into account other parameters that are equally as interesting, such as the quality of the skin, it’s water density, the thickness of the dermis etc., the task of remaining precise becomes much more complex.

The treatment of lymphoedema includes a combination of massage, compression bandaging, and exercise. To date the most common technique of assessing the efficacy of treatment has involved estimating the total limb volume from circumferential measurements at fixed intervals along the limb. This study investigated the application of multiple frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis, MFBIA, to monitor the volume of lymphoedema in the upper limb of patients who developed this disorder following surgery for cancer of the breast.