BONE DENSITOMETRY

BONE DENSITOMETRY
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF
MEASURING THE BONE MINERAL
CONTENT AND DENSITY OF SPECIFIC
SKELETAL SITES OR THE WHOLE
BODY.

THE MOST VERSATILE AND

WIDELY USED TECHNIQUE
DUAL X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY

DXA

DXA

DXA ADVANTAGES

LOW RADIATION DOSE

WIDE AVAILABILITY
EASE OF USE
SHORT SCAN TIME
HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES
GOOD PRECISION
STABLE CALIBRATION

DXA
IS A SUBTRACTION TECHNIQUESOFT TISSUE STRUCTURES ARE
ELIMINATED. X-RAY ATTENUATION
OF THE BONE IS MEASURED. BONE
MINERAL DENSITY IS CALCULATED
(BMD)

BMD

DXA
SCANS PROVIDE IMAGES FOR THE
PURPOSE OF CONFIRMING THE CORRECT
POSITIONING OF THE PATIENT AND
CORRECT PLACEMENT OF ROI ( REGION
OF INTEREST)
IMAGES ARE NOT USED FOR
DIAGNOSIS!!
THE BONE DENSITY RESULTS ARE
COMPUTED AND PRINTED BY SOFTWARE

DXA COMPUTATIONAL
SOFTWARE

HISTORY
OSTEOPOROSIS UNDETECTED AND OVERLOOKED
UNTIL 1920s.
THE FIRST PUBLICATION ABOUT BONE MASS
APPEARED IN 1930s.
RA- RADIOGRAPHIC ABSORPTIOMETRY- X-RAY
TAKEN AND COMPARED TO A STANDARD
RADIOGRAPH
RADIOGAMMETRY INTRODUCED IN THE 1960s
IN RESPONSE TO THE MEASUREMENT OF A BONE
LOSS IN ASTRONAUTS.

 IN 1970 CT WAS USED THROUGH THE SPECALIZED

SOFTWARE. QUANTITATIVE CT.
1970s AND 1980s BROUGHT THE FIRST DEDICATED
SCANNERS. FIRST SPA THEN DPA. USED
RADIOISOTOPE AS A SOURCE OF RADIATION.
FIRST COMMERCIAL DXA SCANNER INTRODUCED
IN 1987 FIRST USED RADIOISOTOPE AS THE X-RAY
SOURCE THEN REPLACED BY THE X-RAY TUBE.
DXA OF THE HIP AND SPINE IS THE MOST
ACCEPTED METHOD FOR MEASURING BONE
DENSITY

CT BONE DENSITOMETRY

SPA SCANNER

HIP AND SPINE DXA

BONE BIOLOGY

SKELETON PURPOSES
BODY SUPPORT
RED BLOOD CELLS MANUFACTURING
MINERAL STORAGE

BONE TYPES
CORTICAL
TRABECULAR- ( CANCELLOUS)

BONE CROSS-SECTION

CORTICAL BONE ACCOUNTS

FOR 80% OF SKELETAL MASS
IT SUPPORTS WEIGHT

TRABECULAR BONE IS THE

DELICATE LATTICE WITHIN
THE BONE THAT ADDS
STRENGTH

SPECIFIC BONE
40% ORGANIC MATTER
60% BONE MINERAL

DXA MEASURES THE DENSITY

OF BONE MINERAL

BONE IS CONSTANTLY GOING

HROUGH THE REMODELING
PROCESS

PEAK BONE MASS AT THE

AGE OF 30-35

DECREASING BONE MASS

STARTING AT THE AGE OF 50

DECREASE IN BONE MASS

PRONOUNCED IN WOMEN AT
MENOPAUSE
LOSS OF BONE
PRESERVING ESTROGEN!

OSTEOPOROSIS
Osteoporosis, or "thin" bones, is a disease that
gradually weakens bones, making them more fragile
and likely to break. It is not a form of arthritis.
Osteoporosis leads to an increase in certain types of
fractures (broken bones), such as hip fractures, wrist
fractures, and compression fractures of the spinal
vertebrae (back bones)

RISK FACTORS FOR

OSTEOPOROSIS IN WOMEN

MENOPAUSE
SMALL BONE FRAME
FAMILY HISTORY
ADVANCED AGE
LOW CALCIUM DIET
INACTIVE LIFESTYLE
CIGARETTE SMOKING
GI MALABSORPTION PROBLEM
CERTAIN MEDICATION USECORTICOSTEROIDS

MINERAL CONTENT
CALCULATION IN BONE
DENSITOMETRY
BMC = BMD X AREA

DXA SYSTEMS
PENCIL BEAM
FAN BEAM

PENCIL BEAM SCANNER

FAN BEAM SCANNER