( Researchers in the Academic Center for ...)Using dental X-rays to detect osteoporosis

Researchers in the Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam have created a unique way of identifying patients at risk of osteoporosis by using ordinary dental x-rays. Professor Paul F. van der Stelt and his team developed the largely automated approach to detecting the disease during a three-year, EU-funded collaboration with the Universities of Manchester, Athens, Leuven, and Malmö. They will present their findings today during the 85th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research.

Osteoporosis affects almost 15% of Western women in their fifties, 22% in their sixties, and 38.5% in their seventies. As many as 70% of women over 80 are at risk, and the condition carries a high risk of bone fractures, with over a third of adult women falling victim at least once in their lifetime. Wide-scale screening for the disease is not currently viable, largely due to the cost and scarcity of specialist equipment and staff.

The team has therefore developed an innovative software-based approach to detecting osteoporosis using routine dental x-rays, by automatically analyzing specific characteristics of the radiographic trabecular bone pattern. These features include, among others, the thickness, the amount of fragmentation, and the main orientation of the structure of the trabecular bone.

In four clinical centers, 671 women with an average age of 55 years were recruited. To obtain the “gold standard? the team measured bone thickness at the femur, hip, and spine, using the technique that is common for this kind of expensive examination (Bone Mass Density, BMD). In addition, one panoramic and two intra-oral radiographs were made.

X-rays are used widely in dental practice for several reasons. Using the image information from these radiographs to detect patients at risk for osteoporosis involves no extra radiation and almost no extra cost, while undetected osteoporotic patients can incur bone fractures and suffer from other pr
'"/>

Source:International & American Association for Dental Research

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Research Using Mouse Models Reveals A Novel Key Player In The Initiation Of Colon Cancer
2. Rush Physicians Using Gene Therapy For Heart Patients With Moderate To Severe Chest Pains Who Do Not Benefit From Other Treatments
3. Researchers Closer To Helping Hearing-Impaired Using Stem Cells
4. Using nanoparticles, in vivo gene therapy activates brain stem cells
5. Using computers and DNA to count bacteria
6. Using the genomic shortcut to predict bacterial behavior
7. Using natures most primitive anti-viral defense system to find new approaches to cancer research
8. Using brain scans, researchers find evidence for a two-stage model of human perceptual learning
9. Using nanomagnets to enhance medical imaging
10. Oldest cranial, dental and postcranial fossils of early modern European humans confirmed
11. Give thanks for the cranberry, say dental researchers