Update on the Clinical Application of Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT) in Osteoporosis

Abstract

Osteoporosis is becoming an increasingly important public health issue and the measurement of BMD is important for diagnosing osteoporosis as well as predicting fracture risk and evaluating therapy efficacy. DXA is currently the best established method for osteoporosis diagnosis, and, however, QCT is more sensitive to the change of BMD with the ability of measuring the volumetric BMD. With the disadvantage of the relatively higher radiation dose over DXA, the clinical application of QCT in the management of osteoporosis warrants further development.