The standard practice has been to measure only one femur due to the repositioning and extra time associated with measuring both. GE Lunar has developed software and a patient positioning aid to allow automated measurement of both femora with only a small increase in throughput time. A 1 T-score difference is equivalent to a doubling of fracture risk in general and a tripling of the risk for hip fracture. Patients with lower limb dysfunction often have compromised femoral BMD, and at the very least that femur should be measured since fracture is 6X more common in an affected limb. However, in most patients it is impossible to predict the side with higher BMD based upon patient-reported dominance.
Physicians can avoid being misled about fracture risk by measuring both femora.
Save Time and Improve Results DualFemur automates femoral densitometry. The operator simply positions the patient using the ergonomic positioner and starts the scan at the greater trochanter. Both femora are then measured in one sequence with no additional positioning or interaction by the operator. The algorithm centers the scan on the femur shaft, updates for femur width, and terminates the scan when the top of the femur is reached. The opposite femur is then automatically located and the second scan proceeds.