Osteoporosis is responsible for two million broken bones each year in the U.S. alone, costing patients over 19 billion dollars. The biggest hurdle for detection is the limited availability of osteoporosis diagnostics, since bone density scans are typically conducted in hospitals with large and costly DXA X-ray machines. The solution may be a new handheld device from Finland’s Bone Index, called Bindex.
A February 1st HospiMedica article highlighted Bindex, the FDA-approved pocket-sized osteoporosis-scanning device. It works by measuring the cortical bone thickness of the tibia. The device’s algorithm uses that data to calculate the Density Index, an estimate of bone mineral density at the hip, the same data gathered with a laborious DXA. The Bindex produced results in just 30 seconds and is then connected to a computer via USB for a graphical display of the results.
