Evaluation and clinical significance of appendicular skeletal assessment by radiographic photodensitometry.
"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.
Bland
J S
JS
HealthComm, Inc., Gig Harbor, WA 98335.
Brooks
D H
DH
Kent
D J
DJ
Fisher
W H
WH
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