Sectra and Swedish care provider offer osteoporosis assessment to all – combatting one of the most expensive and painful diseases affecting women
Linköping, September 15, 2016 – Starting today, Sectra (STO: SECT B) and private care provider Unilabs will offer preventive bone health testing for individuals with risk factors for osteoporosis, thereby enabling measures to be taken to reduce the risk of fractures. The analysis technology to be used by Unilabs will be provided by Sectra. One in two women in Sweden will suffer from a fracture due to osteoporosis, making osteoporosis one of the most common diseases among women. Unilabs’ initiative will be highly significant to women in Sweden since it will enable many severe and painful fractures to be avoided.
“Thanks to our cooperation with Sectra, we now have the opportunity to offer a complete treatment chain for this serious disease, from initial risk assessment to follow-up and possibly further examinations and treatment,” says Charlotta Wikström, Head of Unilabs’ radiology operation.
Thanks to Unilabs’ and Sectra’s joint initiative, many more women and men in Sweden will have the opportunity to easily make an initial assessment of their bone health. The bone density examination is conducted either in connection to a mammography examination at Unilabs or as a separate examination at one of Unilabs’ radiology clinics. The bone density analysis is performed using the Sectra OneScreen online service and is based on a radiology image of the hand. After the examination, individuals who are deemed to be at a high risk will be given an opportunity for further examination using conventional methods to establish possible treatment.
Examinations can be booked at CheckMyBones.se
CheckMyBones.se is an information portal about osteoporosis that aims to make it easy for individuals in Sweden to proactively reduce their risk of osteoporotic fractures. The website allows users to conduct an initial risk assessment and, where applicable, to book and pay for a further examination performed by Unilabs. CheckMyBones is a collaboration between orthopaedic surgeon and senior physician Marjut Sohlman Carlström, Unilabs and Sectra.
About osteoporosis
Around the world, one in three women and one in five men are at risk of an osteoporotic fracture*. Osteoporosis mainly affects women, particularly after menopause, and in the worst cases causes severe and painful bone fractures, long-term disability and death. Inexpensive and effective treatment is currently available, which reduces the risk of painful fractures and subsequent lifelong disabilities. However, many people are not diagnosed in time due to insufficient capacity in the current general healthcare system. Early measures against osteoporosis could save many women from unnecessary suffering and also generate significant cost and resource savings for healthcare.
*Source: International Osteoporosis Foundation http://www.iofbonehealth.org/
Sectra OneScreen analysis method
Sectra OneScreen uses patented Digital X-Ray Radiogrammetry (DXR) technology to analyze bone density in the hand based on a radiology image. Using this technology, individuals at higher risk of osteoporosis can be identified and further examined before being afflicted by a first fracture. Comprehensive studies show that by using Sectra OneScreen, it is possible to create an effective osteoporosis care workflow, since the technology can be used to identify and prioritize individuals who should be followed up through, for example, full-body scans and subsequently receive treatment. The technology is based on comprehensive clinical evidence, including a recently presented doctoral thesis and major trials in Sweden and abroad.
Osteoporosis mainly affects women, particularly after menopause: the same group already enrolled in mammography screening programs. The possibility to combine the examinations so that they can be performed at the same time and use the same radiology equipment makes Sectra OneScreen highly suitable as a method together with national screening programs for osteoporosis and mammography. An increasing number of mammography clinics across the globe are using Sectra OneScreen to perform bone density analyses. Sectra OneScreen is currently being used by private clinics in 12 countries.
About Unilabs in Sweden
Unilabs Group is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of clinical laboratory testing and medical diagnostic imaging services to private and public healthcare providers, local governments, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and the general public. The company operates laboratory and medical diagnostic imaging facilities in 11 countries and, in Sweden, Unilabs now forms a natural part of the healthcare chain. In Sweden alone, Unilabs performs approximately 500,000 radiology exams and 13 million clinical laboratory analyses each year. Out of the 5,000 employees across Europe, more than 900 work in Sweden.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Torbjörn Kronander, CEO and President, Sectra AB, 46 (0) 705 23 52 27
Simo Pykälistö, CFO and Executive Vice President, Sectra AB, 46 (0) 703 51 53 03
About Sectra
The world needs more efficient healthcare and more secure communication. Sectra plays a key role in meeting these needs. Sectra assists hospitals throughout the world to enhance the efficiency of care, and authorities and defense forces in Europe to protect society’s most sensitive information. The company was founded in 1978, has its head office in Linköping, Sweden, with subsidiaries in 14 countries, and operates through partners worldwide. Sales in the 2015/2016 fiscal year totaled SEK 1,073 million. The Sectra share is quoted on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange. For more information, visit www.sectra.com
In the medical market, Sectra develops and sells IT solutions for the management and communication of all types of medical images – primarily in radiology, mammography, pathology and orthopaedics, as well as other departments where medical images are used. Sectra has a strategic focus on making cancer care more efficient. More than 1,700 hospitals, clinics and imaging centers worldwide use Sectra’s systems daily. This makes Sectra one of the world’s leading providers of IT solutions for managing medical images and patient information. The company commands a market-leading position in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Portugal, holds a prominent position in the UK and is growing in the US. Sectra has delivered some of the largest installations of medical IT systems worldwide and its systems have been installed in North America, Scandinavia and most major countries in Europe and the Far East.
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