Updated scanners give Midlands DXA service trabecular bone score capability

Midlands Metabolic Bone Centre’s DXA service based at Bradwell Community Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, is part of the Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. The service has had two Hologic Horizon systems supplied and installed by Vertec Scientific to replace its previous Hologic Discovery A scanners, which were 10 years old.

Advanced clinical practitioner and DXA service lead Kerrie Bethwaite said: “We scan both adults and paediatrics for a wide variety of conditions. We also have an award-winning, nationally recognised gold standard fracture liaison service.

“The new Horizon gives us lots of extra features that include vertebral deformity assessment using less radiation than plain film x-ray. It has body composition analysis giving whole body bone mineral density and lean and fat tissue mass, which can be useful in estimating hypertension and diabetes. The Horizon also has a new software feature that we will be using to calculate trabecular bone score without further imaging or any additional radiation dose to the patient. The score uses the lumbar spine to predict fracture risk independently of bone mineral density.”

Bethwaite added that the Horizon has faster scanning times, giving a greater throughput of patients. It gives great definition of images of the hip, lumbar spine and whole body and significantly reduces the radiation dose in obtaining these measurements. Installation and cross calibration between the new and old scanners were carried out by Vertec engineers, which included the migration of prior patient scans into the new system, enabling comparison of previous scans with new scans. “The aftercare service was excellent, you can book a clinical trainer to go through all the new features and analysis. We did this and found the trainer was very experienced and helpful,” added Bethwaite.

Picture: DXA technician Ann Shaw, trainee DXA technician Adam Davies, DXA technician Ashleigh Howley and advanced clinical practitioner and DXA service lead Kerrie Bethwaite.

Published on page 20 of the October 2023 issue of RAD Magazine.