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What do they do for a Dexa scan?
(February 17, 2010)
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A DEXA scan is a type of bone density scan that measures the bone mineral density in a particular area of your body. It is important to assess your bone mineral density or bone mass as it is an effective indicator of the risk of bone loss due to fracture or bone disorders like osteoporosis or osteopenia. A bone density test like the DEXA scan can thus help diagnose whether or not your bone density is normal. It also helps you determine the nature of treatment required if you have been diagnosed with lower than normal bone mass. A DEXA scan thus helps you assess your bone health so that you can take necessary precautions (based on the evaluated risk for fracture) or pursue specific treatment options. A DEXA scan also helps monitor the degree of response to treatment and can thus be carried out at regular intervals to help test the effectiveness of the treatment. DEXA scans make use of X-rays to help determine the strength or density of your bones.
DEXA or dual energy x-ray absorptiometry allows X-rays to pass through a specific area to measure its density. Fewer X-rays will thus pass through if an area is dense. DEXA scanning devices can be of two kinds; one is central while the other would be peripheral. The central devices help measure ‘central’ areas in your skeletal system like the spine or the hip. These machines are generally large while peripheral devices are usually smaller and measure the density of peripheral areas of the skeleton, like the fingers or the wrist. The DEXA scan measures bone density with the help of two sources of X-rays to enable a greater degree of accuracy. Bones tend to block a certain portion of the X-rays. If the bone has a very low density, a greater number of X-rays will pass through it. This average ‘density’ of the bone is thus calculated by the machine in terms of a ‘T-score’. This T-score compares a person’s bone density with that of a normal, healthy person who would be 30 years of age. (The ‘peak’ or highest bone density a person could have).
The DEXA scan is a painless procedure that may take between ten and twenty minutes. The time taken to perform the test will of course depend upon the kind of machine (central or peripheral) used and the part of the body that is being scanned. The patient will be requested to lie back while an X-ray detector or scanner approaches and scans the area that is being tested.
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Submitted by M T on February 17, 2010 at 02:54
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