Dexa scan machine installed at GMCH Nagpur

Nagpur: A Rs. 26 lakh DEXA scan was inaugurated at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) by the college on Monday, by the Dean, Dr A Niswade, under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna. The dexa scan bought about a year back has been made operational now.

Launched in the medicine department with the department head Dr Y B Bansod present, the machine is of special use the ageing population and women in the menopausal age. As it is during this period that BMD falls due to osteoporosis which is related to hormonal changes during this period. Senior citizens are the to be examined to prevent severe osteoporosis to them.

"Dexa scans are used mainly to measure BMD. It is used to measure total body composition and fat content with a high degree of accuracy comparable to hydrostatic weighing. Dexa scans are also used to assess excess fats in children," said Dr Bansod.

Bone density scanning is an improved form of X-ray technology that is used to measure bone loss. Dexa is a standard scan done to measure the bone mineral density (BMD) and is also called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (Dexa) or bone densitometry.

Pregnant women are supposed to be kept away from the machine, despite the machine using minimum radiation. It is also used to differentiate between fat and bone mass and cannot be used on patients who have been undergoing barium tests in the past 3-4 days.

"It tells you the thickness of your bones and can be used to test all the bones in the body, including the hip joint. One can study the porosity of the bones," Dr Bansod told TOI.