. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jan 15.

Published in final edited form as: Nat Clin Pract Rheumatol. 2008 Oct 21;4(12):667–674. doi: 10.1038/ncprheum0928

Table 2.

Bone mineral density testing technologies.

	DXA	pDXA	QUS	QCT	pQCT
Diagnosis (WHO classification)	Yes	Limited^a	No	No	No
Prediction of fracture risk	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Monitoring changes over time	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Ionizing radiation	++	+	0	+++	++
Cost	++	+	+	+++	++

Clinical applications of different technologies are listed with approximate comparison of associated radiation and cost, where 0 = none, + = low, ++ = moderate, +++ = highest. apDXA of the distal one-third radius (33% radius) may be used with the WHO classification. Abbreviations: DXA, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; pDXA, peripheral dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; pQCT, peripheral quantitative CT; QCT, quantitative CT; QUS, quantitative ultrasound.