Types of Tests
While there are many different types of BMD tests, all are non-invasive. Most tests differ in which bones are measured to determine the BMD result.
These tests include:
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA or DEXA)
- Quantitative computed tomography (QCT)
- Qualitative ultrasound (QUS)
- Single photon absorptiometry (SPA)
- Dual photon absorptiometry (DPA)
- Digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR)
- Single energy X-ray absorptiometry (SEXA)
DEXA is currently the most widely used, but ultrasound has been described as a more cost-effective approach to measure bone density.
The test works by measuring a specific bone or bones, usually the spine, hip, and wrist. The density of these bones is then compared with an average index based on age, sex, and size. The resulting comparison is used to determine risk for fractures and the stage of osteoporosis in an individual.
Average bone mineral density = BMC / W
- BMC = bone mineral content = g/cm
- W = width at the scanned line
Read more about this topic: Bone Density
Famous quotes containing the words types of, types and/or tests:
“... there are two types of happiness and I have chosen that of the murderers. For I am happy. There was a time when I thought I had reached the limit of distress. Beyond that limit, there is a sterile and magnificent happiness.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“Science is intimately integrated with the whole social structure and cultural tradition. They mutually support one other—only in certain types of society can science flourish, and conversely without a continuous and healthy development and application of science such a society cannot function properly.”
—Talcott Parsons (1902–1979)
“What is a novel? I say: an invented story. At the same time a story which, though invented has the power to ring true. True to what? True to life as the reader knows life to be or, it may be, feels life to be. And I mean the adult, the grown-up reader. Such a reader has outgrown fairy tales, and we do not want the fantastic and the impossible. So I say to you that a novel must stand up to the adult tests of reality.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)