ABSTRACT
The increasing prevalence and awareness of osteoporosis, together with the development of treatments of proven efficacy will increase the demand for management of patients with osteoporosis. This in turn will require widespread facilities for the assessment of osteoporosis. Measurements of bone mineral are a central component of any provision which arises from the internationally agreed description of osteoporosis: a systemic disease characterized by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture.1 The diagnosis thus centers on the assessment of bone mass and quality There are no satisfactory clinical tools available to assess bone quality independently of bone density, so that for practical purposes the diagnosis of osteoporosis depends upon the measurement of skeletal mass, as assessed by measurements of bone mineral density (BMD).
