Bone Density Tests – An Overview
Bone density tests are an important element in helping evaluate bone health relating to risks of fractures and in assessing osteoporosis development.
Physicians use bone density tests in association with consideration of a variety of clinical risk factors, including:
Sex, age, height and weight of the patient
Previous fractures
Hip fractures among parents
Smoking habits
Associated conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis
Alcohol consumption
Traditional Bone Mineral Density Test
Traditionally, Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) technology is used for bone density testing. It provides an assessment of the amount of mineral in the bone. Bone mineral density loss, identified through a DXA bone density test, provides an indication of bone status.
Drawbacks of DXA Bone Density Testing
While DXA tests are perceived as the gold standard, the systems are large, room-sized equipment that are expensive to purchase and operate. Bone density tests performed with DXA expose patients to radiation. Repeated X-ray exposure, even in low doses is not optimal, therefore DXA-based bone density testing ideally should not be frequently and repetitively performed on the same patient more than once every two to three years
Quantitative Ultrasound – Bone Density Test Alternatives for Early Assessment and Monitoring of Osteoporosis
An affordable, convenient and radiation-free alternative to these tests using DXA is to use quantitative ultrasound to gain a measure of skeletal fragility, which assists physicians in diagnosing and monitoring osteoporosis.
As a leading developer of quantitative ultrasound-based systems, Beammed is leading the way in helping fight osteoporosis. Beammed's Sunlight products, which utilize proprietary Omnipath Axial Transmission Technology, provide valuable information for early assessment of osteoporosis. In this way, they provide a proven, effective alternative to bone density tests, particularly where cost or geographic isolation make DXA bone density tests inaccessible to specific patient populations.
BeamMed devices provide a quantitative measurement of the velocity of ultrasonic waves propagating along the bones – i.e. Speed of Sound, or SOS, in m/sec – and thus can be used to gain a measure of skeletal fragility.
Expressed in both SOS m/sec and as a Z score and a T score, the output results can be used in conjunction with other clinical risk factors to assist physicians in the diagnosis of osteoporosis and other medical conditions leading to reduced bone strength, and, ultimately, in the determination of fracture risk.
SOS is accurate enough to make it suitable for monitoring bone changes which occur during the years of accelerated growth and in the early years following menopause – providing an x-ray-free alternative to DXA bone density tests.
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Improvement in our overall ratings!
Our Florida Retail Centers have been able to add about 10% more members scanned for the overall OMW HEDIS measure, resulting in a one star improvement in our overall rating.
C. Barcellona
The MiniOmni device is easy to use and user friendly.
Our team, Care Connectors, uses the MiniOmni device in all types of settings, throughout the entire United States. The MiniOmni device is easy to use and user friendly.
Tarana S.
Director of Network Management, Care Connectors Medical Group, CA
We enjoy the simplicity of using the MiniOmni!
It's size makes it very portable and convenient to bring to health fairs. Clients enjoy how easy it is to have the ultrasound testing performed on the wrist without having to disrobe. We encourage physical therapists to perform bone health screening using QUS on their clients.
Cynthia W.
The Sunlight Ultrasound was a valuable tool for the assessment of fracture risk
In our experience, the Sunlight Multisite Quantitative Ultrasound has proven to be a very accurate and reliable clinical and research tool. We will continue to use it and have an extensive research and publication plan in place to further detail our use of it and its strengths in assessing fracture risk and, we hope, in monitoring patient response to therapy.
Dr. Shan Davidson
Senior Scientist, a priori medical sciences inc.