Dual-energy radiographic absorptiometry of the lumbar spine: clinical experience with two different systems

Dual-energy radiographic absorptiometry (DRA) of the lumbar spine was performed in 222 subjects (aged 17-92 years) of both sexes with use of two different systems. In a sub-group of 21 patients, results were compared with those obtained by means of dual-photon absorptiometry (DPA) of the lumbar spine. There was a high correlation among the results obtained with three instruments (r = .9, P less than .0001), and interconversion factors were calculated. Data conversion based on these regression equations may be useful for comparing results from one laboratory to another.