September 2, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Clinic has won accreditation for its bone-density scan program - one of only a handful of scanning centers in the nation to be accredited.

The notification is from the Commission on the Accreditation of Skeletal Assessment Facilities, a program run by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD). Fewer than 20 United States scanning centers have won accreditation this year, an ISCD report said.

"The Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Clinic is honored to receive facility accreditation and to be part of such an elite group," said Sarah Morgan, M.D., R.D., C.C.D., professor of medicine, nutrition sciences and director of the Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Clinic. "We are very pleased to be recognized in the skeletal assessment community for providing outstanding services under the highest standards."

The technical term for a bone scan is dual energy X-ray absorptiometry or DXA. DXA scanners work by sending two thin, invisible beams of low-dose X-rays into target tissues and bones. Because of their design, DXA scans only measure bone brittleness and mineral density.

DXA scans are most often used to diagnose bone thickness and osteoporosis, and to track treatment of bones for musculoskeletal disorders and other conditions that may impact the risk of bone thinning and fracture.

In earning accreditation, UAB's scanning center at The Kirklin Clinic demonstrates excellence in DXA accuracy, quality control, patient and referring physician education, and other ISCD standards.