Posted on March 23, 2004 at 11:35 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — UAB’s (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Osteoporosis Treatment and Prevention Clinic will boost its ability to diagnose osteoporosis with the addition of a second high-tech bone densitometer and new diagnostic software, obtained with the help of the Protective Life Insurance Company.

A Protective Life Clinical Initiative Award has allowed the clinic to add a second bone densitometry scanner, commonly known as a DXA scanner, and obtain new software for quantitative computed tomography (QCT) scanners that will assist in determining bone mineral density via computerized tomography and remodel a room for the DXA scanner.

“This will double our DXA capacity for both clinical and research applications,” says Dr. Sarah Morgan, professor of nutrition sciences and medicine and director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Clinic. “The new QCT scanner software gives us an exciting new way to do quantitative measurements of the bones of the hip and spine.”

The clinic will hold a ribbon cutting and open house at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, March 29, at the clinic on the third floor of the Kirklin Clinic, 2000 6th Avenue South.

A DXA machine takes a low-level X-ray picture of a patient’s bones and calculates their density. DXA scans can detect low levels of bone loss better than typical X-rays machines, opening the way for treatments that help to minimize bone loss.

For more information on osteoporosis and the UAB Osteoporosis Treatment and Prevention Clinic, go to www.uab.edu/shp/toneyourbones.