Bindex, a pocket-sized diagnostic device for osteoporosis developed by the Kuopio medical device manufacturer Bone Index, shows measurement accuracy that meets international requirements, according to a recent medical study, and it could be recommended for use in primary health care offices.
The results of a large international study were published at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases in late March in Milan, Bone Index notes. The study measured 1,316 women over age 50 at a total of nine locations in Finland and the U.S. The study revealed that 70 percent of the women could have been reliably diagnosed in primary health care with the Bindex device and only 30 percent required further assessment by a specialist.
“The results are similar to those in our original research data. The large amount of data from different countries in this study strengthens our market position significantly,” says Bone Index’s Managing Director, Ossi Riekkinen.
One of the biggest problems in identifying the condition has been the limited availability of diagnostic tests. Finding a reliable and economical method for health care providers to screen and diagnose osteoporosis has been difficult, so patients have to be referred to a hospital for tests.
In Finland alone, there are an estimated 400,000 people suffering from osteoporosis and only a quarter of them are aware that they have the disease, says osteoporosis researcher Professor Heikki Kröger of the University of Eastern Finland. In the EU region, bone fractures caused by osteoporosis cost society as much as 40 billion euros every year.
Source: Bone Index