McLaren Northern Michigan Imaging Services provides bone densitometry testing. Bone densitometry allows for accurate assessment of bone density and the detection of clinically significant changes in bone mass. Our staff places priority on making your journey through the imaging process comfortable and safe. All images are read by a radiologist with specialty expertise in the area of the body being studied.
Bone Densitometry Overview
What is a bone densitometry exam?
Common Uses
Safety
What to Expect BEFORE your Bone Densitometry Exam
What to Expect DURING your Bone Densitometry Exam
What to Expect AFTER your Bone Densitometry Exam
Bone Densitometry Overview
- A special kind of x-ray machine measures the amount of energy your bones absorb, which indicates bone density and strength.
- The exam helps to diagnose and track the treatment of osteoporosis and other conditions that cause bone loss.
- State-of-the-art equipment minimizes x-ray exposure.
- Your exam will be interpreted by a radiologist specially trained in bone density.
- Special software compares your current and past bone-density results providing an accurate picture of the progress.
- The exam takes about 30 minutes.
- You will lie on a table and the technologist performing your exam will take images of your hips and spine.
- You will need to lie still and may be asked to hold your breath for a few seconds while the pictures are being taken.
- The technologist will remain with you during the exam.
An example of a bone densitometry exam
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What is a bone densitometry exam?
Bone densitometry scanning, also called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA or DEXA) or simply a "bone density scan," is an enhanced form of x-ray technology that is used to measure bone loss. DEXA is today's established standard for measuring bone mineral densitometry.
An x-ray (radiograph) is a painless medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. Radiography involves exposing a part of the body to a small dose of ionizing radiation to produce pictures of the inside of the body. X-rays are the oldest and most frequently used form of medical imaging.
Bone densitometry is most often performed on the lower spine and hips.
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Common Uses
Bone densitometry is most often used to diagnose osteoporosis, a condition that most often affects women after menopause. Osteoporosis involves a gradual loss of calcium, causing the bones to become thinner, more fragile, and more likely to break.
The exam is effective in tracking the effects of treatment for osteoporosis and other conditions that cause bone loss. The test can also assess an individual's risk for developing fractures.
Bone densitometry testing is strongly recommended if you:
- Are a post-menopausal woman and not taking estrogen.
- Have a personal or maternal history of hip fracture or smoking.
- Are a post-menopausal woman who is tall (over 5 feet 7 inches) or thin (less than 125 pounds).
- Are a man with clinical conditions associated with bone loss.
- Use medications that are known to cause bone loss, including corticosteroids such as Prednisone, various anti-seizure medications such as Dilantin and certain barbiturates, or high-dose thyroid replacement drugs.
- Have type 1 (formerly called juvenile or insulin-dependent) diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, or a family history of osteoporosis.
- Have high bone turnover, which shows up in the form of excessive collagen in urine samples.
- Have a thyroid condition, such as hyperthyroidism.
- Have a parathyroid condition, such as hyperparathyroidism.
- Have experienced a fracture after only mild trauma.
- Have had x-ray evidence of vertebral fracture or other signs of osteoporosis.
The Lateral Vertebral Assessment, a low-dose x-ray examination of the spine to screen for vertebral fractures that is performed on the DEXA machine, may be recommended for older patients, especially if you:
- Have lost more than an inch of height.
- Have unexplained back pain.
- Have had a bone densitometry scan that gave borderline readings.
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Safety
Special care is taken during x-ray examinations to use the lowest radiation dose possible while producing the best images for evaluation. National and international radiology protection councils continually review and update the technique standards used by radiology professionals.
State-of-the-art x-ray systems have tightly controlled x-ray beams with significant filtration and dose control methods to minimize stray or scatter radiation. This ensures those parts of a patient's body not being imaged receive minimal radiation exposure.
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What to Expect BEFORE your Bone Densitometry Exam
- Food and drink: On the day of your bone densitometry scan you may eat normally. You should not take calcium supplements for at least 24 hours before your exam.
- When to arrive: Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time to check in and fill out any necessary forms.
- What to wear: You should wear loose, comfortable clothing, avoiding garments that have zippers, belts, or buttons made of metal. You may be asked to remove some or all of your clothes and to wear a gown during the exam. You may also be asked to remove jewelry, eyeglasses, and any metal objects or clothing that might interfere with the x-ray images.
- Other information: Inform your physician if you recently had a barium examination or have been injected with a contrast material for a computed tomography (CT) scan or radioisotope scan. You may have to wait 10 to 14 days before undergoing a DEXA test.
Women should always inform their physician or technologist if there is any possibility that they are pregnant. Many imaging tests are not performed during pregnancy because radiation can be harmful to the fetus. If an x-ray is necessary, precautions will be taken to minimize radiation exposure to the baby.
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What to Expect DURING your Bone Densitometry Exam:
- Scanning: Bone densitometry scans are a quick and painless procedure, and usually done on an outpatient basis. You will lie on a padded table. An x-ray generator will be located below you and an imaging device, or detector, will be positioned above.
To assess your spine, your legs will be supported on a padded box to flatten the pelvis and lower (lumbar) spine. To assess the hip, your foot will be placed in a brace that rotates the hip inward. In both cases, the detector will slowly pass over the area, generating images on a computer monitor. You must hold very still and may be asked to keep from breathing for a few seconds while the picture is taken to reduce the possibility of a blurred image.
- Length of scan: The scan is usually completed within 20 to 30 minutes.
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What to Expect AFTER your Bone Densitometry Exam:
- Instructions: You may resume normal activity immediately after your bone densitometry scan.
- Exam results: All bone densitometry exams at McLaren Northern Michigan are interpreted by a radiologist. Under normal circumstances the reports are available electronically to the ordering physician within 24 hours. Your referring physician will communicate these results to you.
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"Barium x-ray. Linda and Lynda were both outstanding. Gave great descriptions of what was going to happen and made me feel comfortable. Very helpful, as well as the nurses in endoscopy where I had been two weeks prior."
- A General Diagnostic Imaging Patient
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