Bone Index Ltd. Announces American Medical Association Issues New Reimbursement Code for Bindex osteoporosis measurement
Bone Index Ltd., one of Europe's top new manufacturers of medical devices, announces that the American Medical Association (AMA) has issued a new Category III CPT® code* for Bindex® measurement to help physicians in diagnosing osteoporosis.
“In osteoporosis screening and diagnostics area, it has taken about 20 years since the last new code and therefore this new CPT code is a huge step for healthcare operators to provide highly needed osteoporosis examinations. This is also very strong evidence that Bindex is a new and unique medical device which provides significant improvement in osteoporosis screening and diagnostics in US” says Bone Index's CEO, Dr. Ossi Riekkinen.
Bindex® point-of-care device measures the cortical bone thickness of the tibia and the algorithm calculates the Density Index, a parameter which estimates bone mineral density at the hip as measured with DXA. Bindex detects osteoporosis with 90% sensitivity and specificity and will significantly help physicians with diagnosis.
Undiagnosed osteoporosis is a worldwide challenge. In the US alone osteoporosis is responsible for two million broken bones every year, costing over 19 billion dollars. Experts forecast that by 2025, the costs will rise to 25.3 billion dollars. One of the biggest challenges is the limited availability of osteoporosis diagnostics since bone density scans are mostly performed in hospitals with large DXA X-ray machines that entail high costs. "This is why Bindex® is a game-changer," says Dr. Riekkinen.
Bindex® has a total of 19 patents globally including the US, China, Japan and large European countries. “Now Bindex is used by the US’s leading provider of direct to consumer preventive health screenings, Life Line Screening, and in addition, for example, neurosurgeries are using Bindex as a pre-operative measurement. The overall aim is to prevent osteoporotic fractures and improve the quality of life for families in the US,” Dr. Riekkinen concludes.
For more information:
Bone Index Ltd., Dr. Ossi Riekkinen, CEO,
ossi.riekkinen@boneindex.fi , +358 50 363 2797, www.bindex.fi/en/
*0508T: Pulse-echo ultrasound bone density measurement resulting in indicator of axial bone mineral density, tibia. Effective date July 1, 2018. https://www.ama-assn.org/sites/default/files/media-browser/public/cpt/cpt-category3-codes-descriptors.pdf
About Bone Index:
Founded in 2011 and based in Kuopio, Bone Index Finland Ltd. specializes in the development of measuring devices for osteoporosis screening and diagnosis.
