AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, March 23 (UPI) -- Dutch researchers have found a unique way of identifying patients at risk of osteoporosis with the use of ordinary dental X-rays.
Paul F. van der Stelt and his team at the Academic Center for Dentistry in Amsterdam developed the largely automated approach to detecting the disease, which carries a high risk of bone fractures and affects as many as 70 percent of women over 80.
The researchers developed a software-based approach to detecting osteoporosis. The software analyzes specific characteristics of bone pattern, such as thickness and the amount of fragmentation of the bone, according to the findings presented at the 85th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research in Amsterdam.
Using the image information to detect patients at risk for osteoporosis involves no extra radiation and almost no extra cost. Undetected osteoporosis can lead to bone fractures and mobility problems, according to van der Stelt.
The findings are also published in the journal Bone.
