[Radionuclide methods of measuring mineral contents in the bone tissue]

Over the recent 10-15 years, osseous densitometers intended for measuring the content of minerals in osseous tissue have become very popular abroad. To record statistically significant changes in an osseous mineral, these devices should have reproducibility (variation rate) exceeding 2%. Mono- and biphoton densitometers may be distinguished by the type of the applied radionuclide. Biphoton densitometers are advantageous since they permit examining any part of the skeletal system of the patient or the whole body. Biphoton absorptiometry is based on measuring the transition of photons of two energies via the medium that largely consists of the two materials bone and soft tissue. The authors describe the results of examining parts of the peripheral skeleton with the aid a laboratory sample of a biphoton osseous densitometer for the peripheral skeleton.