title: Evaluation and clinical significance of appendicular skeletal assessment by radiographic photodensitometry.
abstract: "Senile" or age-related bone loss affects cortical and trabecular bone and may be detected in the appendicular as well as the axial skeleton. This study presents radiographic photodensitometry as a precise and sensitive technique for evaluating appendicular skeletal status. Data from reproducibility studies indicate that the coefficient of variation for the technology is between 1.9% and 4.5% for the three bones analyzed. Evaluation of age-related changes in bone mass for over 800 subjects demonstrated a decline in mass vs. age after the fourth decade in women, with the slope of the decline being very similar to that seen in CT longitudinal studies. Applied serially to a patient over time, the technology identifies changes in bone mass and may be used to evaluate the response to intervention therapy.
authors.affiliation: HealthComm, Inc., Gig Harbor, WA 98335.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Bland
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kent
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000032:analysis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted