Instrumental diagnosis of osteoporosis

Considerable progress in the development of methods for assessing the skeleton now makes it possible to detect osteoporosis non-invasively and early. There is a variety of techniques available at present: single-photon (SPA) and single X-ray absorptiometry (SXA), dual-photon (DPA) and dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), quantitative computed tomography (QCT), radiographic absorptiometry (RA), and quantitative ultrasound (QUS), and their development has certainly been driven by the need to overcome the inherent shortcomings of plain radiography for this purpose. Both SPA and SXA methods make a quantitative assessment of the bone mineral content (BMC) or density (BMD) at peripheral sites of the skeleton possible. Single energy measurements are not possible at sites with variable soft tissue thickness and composition, i.e., the axial skeleton. For these purposes, DPA and DXA techniques were introduced. The main advantages of an X-ray system over a radionuclide system are shortened examination time, greater accuracy and precision limited to higher resolution, and removal of errors due to source decay correction. Low radiation dose, availability, capacity to evaluate multiple sites, and ease of use have made DXA the most widely used technique for measuring bone mineral density. QCT can determine the true volumetric density of trabecular or cortical bone in three dimensions at any skeletal site. Recently developed new computer-assisted methods have improved RA precision, thus providing a simple and inexpensive technique for screening of bone mineral status of large populations. QUS was reported to provide information regarding the structural characteristics of bone, which may be relevant to the appearance of osteoporotic fractures; indeed, some studies suggest a relationship between QUS and bone strength beyond that which can be explained by BMD. Recent experimental studies suggested that magnetic resonance might also constitute a promising tool for assessing osteoporosis.