Quincy Medical Group (QMG) has expanded its health and wellness services available to men and women with the addition of the Horizon™ bone densitometry system from Hologic. The technology allows for enhanced imaging and capability to detect and treat osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis affects millions of women and men worldwide. Osteoporosis (which means “porous bones”), is a disease that weakens bones, and if you have it, you are at a greater risk for sudden and unexpected bone fractures.
Osteoporosis is often diagnosed with a bone density test, as well as with a comprehensive physical exam and other lab tests. With the new technology, the QMG care team can now calculate a patient’s Trabecular Bone Score (TBS). TBS has been shown to complement bone density testing and to provide more information that can improve how health care providers diagnose and treat patients.
QMG Endocrinologist Dr. Dustin Higgins shared, “Historically, predicting risk of bone fracture (breakage) has been limited to the bone density, as well as a few other factors, like whether or not someone smokes, whether low bone density runs in the family, etc. Now, we will have an additional measurement to help us predict a person’s risk of fracture called the TBS.”
Higgins explained that TBS provides information about the internal strength of the bone and can help distinguish why the bones are thinned, while bone density tells more about the external part of the bone.
“TBS will allow us to identify more patients who are at risk of bone fracture than we knew before. This will save more people from having painful and debilitating bone fractures than before with DEXA alone.”
For more information on Endocrinology care at QMG, visit https://quincymedgroup.com/medical-services/endocrinology/.
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