Major Norwegian private healthcare provider takes up fight against osteoporosis
Unilabs Norway AS in Oslo, a leading private healthcare provider, is now offering women the opportunity to combine their mammography examination with osteoporosis detection in a single examination using Sectra’s online service. In this way, women can examine their bone health and, at an early stage, prevent fractures by making lifestyle changes or having treatment, thereby avoiding unnecessary suffering.
Using Sectra’s method, which is offered as an online service, a hand radiograph provides documentation for the diagnosis of osteoporosis. The image is taken at the same time as the breast images during the mammogram and using the same radiology equipment. The examination adds about 40 seconds to the visit.
Unilabs already offers women this service at two Swedish clinics and will now introduce it at one of their clinics in Oslo, Norway.
“We experience a growing number of customers around the world who see the advantages of offering women the ability to examine their bone health in association with their regular mammography examination”, says Jakob Algulin, business manager for the online offering in Rheumatology. “Our method offers the necessary prerequisites for a simple and cost-effective way of identifying women who are in the risk zone, thereby remaining one step ahead of the disease, which can reduce the number of bone fractures and thus save patients from considerable pain and generate major cost savings for the care provider,” he continues.
Today, Sectra’s online service is used in Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Healthcare delivered online
The bone-density analysis is performed using a patented Sectra technology known as Digital X-ray Radiogrammetry (DXR). Studies have shown that the DXR technology can be used to identify patients who are in the risk zone for fractures[1]. Sectra has further enhanced its DXR technology and now offers an Internet service for bone-density analysis known as dxr-online. Use of the service requires an Internet connection and a digital x-ray machine.
About osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is one of the most painful and costly diseases in the world. It primarily affects women, particularly after menopause, and can cause pain and, in severe cases, fractures of, for example, the wrist, hip or spine. The disease is caused by an imbalance in the remodeling of the skeleton, which in turn can be caused, for example, by an unhealthy lifestyle, genetic factors or drugs used to treat other diseases.
[1] Boonen S, et al. Identifying postmenopausal women with osteoporosis … metacarpal digital X-ray radiogrammetry …. Osteoporos Int. 2005 Jan; 16(1):93-100.
Bouxsein ML et al. Digital X-ray Radiogrammetry Predicts Wrist, Hip, and Vertebral Fracture Risk…. Osteoporosis International 2002; 13:358-365.
Bach-Mortensen et al. Digital X-ray Radiogrammetry Identifies Women at Risk of Osteoporotic Fracture: Results from a Prospective Study. Calcified Tissue International 2006 Jul; 79(1):1-6.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Torbjörn Kronander, President, Sectra Imtec AB, 46 705 23 52 27
Dr. Jan-Olof Brüer, CEO and President, Sectra AB, 46 13 23 52 09
About Sectra
Sectra develops and sells IT systems and products for radiology, mammography and orthopaedics. More than 1,100 hospitals, clinics and imaging centers worldwide use the systems daily, together performing over 55 million radiology examinations annually. This makes Sectra one of the world-leading companies within systems for handling digital radiology images. In Scandinavia, Sectra is the market leader with more than 50% of all film-free installations. Sectra’s systems have been installed in North America, Scandinavia and most major countries in Europe and the Far East.
Sectra was founded in 1978 and has its roots in Linköping University in Sweden. The company’s business operation includes cutting-edge products and services within the niche segments of medical systems and secure communication systems. Sectra has offices in 12 countries and operates through partners worldwide. Sales in the 2010/2011 fiscal year totaled SEK 911 million. The Sectra share is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB exchange. For more information, visit www.sectra.com
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