Osteoporosis is a silent disease and the best predictors of osteoporosis is bone mineral density assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The preferred sites of measurement are the hip and spine (axial sites). The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved many portable DEXA machines which assess peripheral (fingers and hells) sites. We, in conjunction with an on-going osteoporosis screening program (using peripheral DEXA) based at the Boston Medical Center Primary Care Clinic, plan on obtaining DEXA assessment of axial sites and compare them with peripheral site DEXA results. The data obtained will allow evaluation of the peripheral DEXA as an alternative to axial DEXA.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter