Echo Bone

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    ECHographic technologies for bone fracture risk assessments and better OSteoporosis diagnoses (ECHOS)

  • IRAS ID

    230385

  • Contact name

    EM Dennison

  • Contact email

    emd@mrc.soton.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    UHS

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 0 months, 0 days

  • Research summary

    Research Summary

    This application seeks permission to measure ultrasound of the lumbar spine and proximal femur to assess bone mass and quality and compare it to DXA measurements obtained at the same time and as part of usual clinical care in those participants who give consent. The aim of the study is to test how acceptable the ultrasound is to patients, and how easy the tests are to perform, and to compare results of conventional DXA (the gold standard test for osteoporosis) with ultrasound.

    Summary of Results

    Ultrasound of the lumbar spine and proximal femur can be used to assess bone mass and quality. The aim of the study was to test how acceptable the ultrasound is to patients, and how easy the tests are to perform, and to compare ultrasound with the results of conventional DXA (the gold standard test for osteoporosis). We invited 1000 patients aged 30 to 80 attending for a DXA scan as part of routine clinical care to have an additional scan. We found that the ultrasound was quick and easy for radiographers to perform, and acceptable to patients. Data obtained from the scans will be combined with those collected from other international researchers to create a dataset large enough to see if an ultrasound test might one day replace DXA scans or be used alongside them to assess bone health.

  • REC name

    West of Scotland REC 4

  • REC reference

    18/WS/0102

  • Date of REC Opinion

    29 Jun 2018

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion