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Press release

• Medical Systems
• Linköping, Sweden
• February 22, 2010

Unique initiative for early diagnosis of osteoporosis among Stockholm women

Women in Stockholm are now able to combine their mammography examinations with a risk assessment for future bone fractures. Unilabs’ mammography clinic in Tumba offers combined examinations as part of an initiative to treat women in the risk zone for future fractures. A total of 10,000 women will be examined during the research study.

“In the field of osteoporosis care, there are currently inexpensive options for preventing fractures through lifestyle changes and medicine,” says Associate Professor Torkel Brismar of Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, which is conducting the project. “This method offers the necessary prerequisites to a simple and cost-effective way of identify women who are in the risk zone, thereby remaining one step ahead of the disease, which could reduce the number of bone fractures and thus save patients from considerable pain and generate major cost savings for the care provider,” he continues.
Low bone density is one of the risk factors for bone fractures. In addition to a normal mammography, Unilabs offers women a bone-density examination using the Sectra DXR Online method. Women also have the opportunity to fill in a questionnaire pertaining to other known risk factors. The women who are deemed to be in a high-risk group are offered treatment.
Healthcare delivered online
The bone-density analysis is performed using a patented Sectra technology known as Digital X-ray Radiogrammetry (DXR). Studies have shown that the DXR technology can be used to identify patients who are in the risk zone for fractures¹. Sectra has further enhanced its DXR technology and now offers an Internet service for bone-density analysis known as dxr-online. Use of the service requires an Internet connection and a digital x-ray machine.
About osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is one of the most painful and costly diseases in the world. It primarily affects women, particularly after menopause, and can cause pain and, in severe cases, fractures of the wrist, hip or spine. The disease can be caused by an imbalance in the reproduction of the skeleton, an unhealthy lifestyle or drugs used to treat other diseases.

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¹ Boonen S, et al. Identifying postmenopausal women with osteoporosis … metacarpal digital X-ray radiogrammetry …. Osteoporos Int. 2005 Jan; 16(1):93-100.
Bouxsein ML et al. Digital X-ray Radiogrammetry Predicts Wrist, Hip, and Vertebral Fracture Risk…. Osteoporosis International 2002; 13:358-365.
Bach-Mortensen et al. Digital X-ray Radiogrammetry Identifies Women at Risk of Osteoporotic Fracture: Results from a Prospective Study. Calcified Tissue International 2006 Jul; 79(1):1-6.