Know the Bone Densitometer, Let You See Through Osteoporosis
As our country is gradually entering an aging society, the rate of osteoporosis is also gradually increasing. According to the World Health Organization, osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by decreased bone mass and deterioration of the microstructure of bone tissue, resulting in fragile bones and an increased risk of fracture. In addition to the increased risk of fractures, patients may also have multiple complications following fractures. Osteoporosis has thus become an important medical and public health issue.
Osteoporosis has no obvious symptoms, but can cause fractures due to minor trauma, further causing many symptoms and dysfunction, and even death. After a hip fracture, people are often unable to live on their own, requiring long-term care, and fractures frequently occur again. If the spine is fractured, it often causes back pain, hunchback, and short height. In severe cases, it affects lung function and digestive function, and even death. Wrist fractures can cause local deformation and affect daily life.
Since osteoporosis is painless and has no obvious symptoms, you must rely on tests to know your bone density. According to the diagnostic criteria of osteoporosis established by WHO, the measurement value of "dual energy x-ray absorptiometry" (hereinafter referred to as DXA) is used for examination, which can be used to measure any part of the body, but Usually used on the lumbar spine and hip bones.
The principle of DXA is to use X-rays of two different energies as the radiation source to irradiate the inspected part, and measure the bone mineral density (BMD value, unit g/cm2) according to different energy absorption. One part, with the advantage of low radiation exposure. At present, DXA used in hospitals must be reviewed by the Atomic Energy Commission for its radiation safety, and by the Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) for its electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility, software validation, BMD measurement accuracy, T value conversion, etc. function to ensure its safety and performance, and the public can test with peace of mind.
Quantitative Heel Ultrasound (QUS) is another instrument for measuring bone mineral density. Although most of them follow the T value diagnostic criteria of the World Health Organization DXA, there is no consensus on the diagnostic criteria with corroborative data, and the clinical cut-off point for interventional therapy has not been established. There is no consistent opinion. At present, it should only be used as a tool for preliminary screening and is not recommended as an inspection tool for follow-up treatment; if abnormality is found in the initial screening, the aforementioned DXA should be used to confirm the examination of the hip and lumbar spine.
