What is quantitative ultrasound?

Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) is a type of medical technology used to investigate bone density. It includes the use of sound waves at high frequencies. The way the sound waves pass through the bones are recorded, indicating the strength and quality of bone tissue. This type of ultrasound ultrasound has been used to detect osteoporosis and can be used to assess the risk of the patient before the next testing procedure known as dual energy X -ray absorption absorption (DXA) is performed for diagnosis. Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones are weakened when the spaces inside them increase, causing fractures to be more likely.

Although X -ray absorption with double energy is considered to be the best method for diagnosing osteoporosis, it is expensive, includes low radiation levels and must be performed by a radiograph. For these reasons, it is better used to make a final diagnosis than as an initial screening test for the population. Instead, people may be the firstE test using methods such as questionnaires and quantitative ultrasound before selecting those who seem to be at risk of osteoporosis for DXA.

Quantitative ultrasound can be done using portable scanners. As a result, an osteoporosis test is a suitable test for achieving and evaluating a large number of people. Other benefits of quantitative ultrasound are that it is cheaper than DXA and does not use radiation. The procedure is also relatively fast, with a simple bone test on the heel only about 15 minutes.

During the quantitative ultrasound of the patient's heel, they place the heel in the portable scanning machine and the sound waves are sent from the bone converter and accept another converter. The converter converts one form of energy to another and in this case the electrical pulses are converted into sound and back. There is no pain in the procedure and as the converters move on the heel, it can feel similar to a massage.

speed,In which sound waves pass through the bones of the heel and the amount of sound that reaches the second converter is analyzed and compared with the results of the ordinary population. The results of patients provide information about their bone structure, density and strength, and these factors are combined into a single score known as T-score. T -skóre young and healthy adults would be 0.0 and scores that are lower than -2.5 are high risk of osteoporosis, while the score above -1.0 is associated with low risk.