Ultrasound Bone Densitometry

There are many methods to find bone density such as X-Ray, MRI, CT and others. However, the systems are found to have several disadvantages such as involving ionizing radiation, time consumption, and so on. World Health Organization recommended DXA as the current gold standard for the diagnostic method of osteoporosis. DXA Dual Emission X-ray Absorptiometry using X-ray beams of two differing energies are passed through the spine and hips, and a computer analyses the difference in absorption of the X-rays to determine the bone mineral density (BMD). DXA includes limited availability and high cost, as well as exposure to ionizing radiations. Quantitative Ultrasound is a recently-emerging method in which key points of the calcaneus are penetrated by the ultrasound waves and overall bone mineral density is determined. Several recent studies found that it is consistently less accurate than the DXA in diagnosing osteoporosis, but is useful in determining the probability of fracture. It is capable of giving more accurate information about the qualities of bone, such as micro-architecture, much less expensive method and do not have any harmful effect of ionizing radiation. Though Quantitative Ultrasound cannot currently detect osteoporosis as accurately as DXA, but with new technologies and tools of image processing it is possible. The Quantitative Ultrasound can be used as a powerful, accurate and cheapest method in Bone Densitometry with the advanced image processing tools.