iDXA DEXA Scans
The Gold Standard for Body Composition Analysis
What is a DEXA Scan?
A DEXA scan is a type of medical imaging test. It uses very low levels of x-rays (less than 1/100th of a chest x-ray) to measure how dense your tissue and bones are. DEXA stands for “dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.”
Medical experts consider DEXA scans to be the most useful, easy, and inexpensive test for helping to diagnose osteoporosis. It is considered the Gold Standard method to determine body fat percentage and quantify body composition. The test is quick and painless. Both body composition and bone density can be easily measured. Multiple scans can be tracked over time to give an easy to analyze roadmap of patient progress over time.
Our Technology
At Vitality, we have a state-of-the-art GE Lunar iDXA scanner. Lunar iDXA's detector technology enables extremely precise measurements of tissue and bone density, allowing us to track changes that had previously been too minor to detect. This allows us to better manage weight loss, hormonal optimization, and fitness plans.
Accuracy
In vivo precision for body composition measurements using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA; GE Lunar iDXA, GE Healthcare, Bucks, UK) was evaluated in 52 men and women, aged 34.8 (s.d. 8.4; range 20.1–50.5) years, body mass index (25.8 kg/m2; range 16.7–42.7 kg/m2). Two consecutive total body scans (with re-positioning) were conducted. Precision was excellent for all measurements, particularly for total body bone mineral content and lean tissue mass (root mean square 0.015 and 0.244 kg; coefficients of variation (CV) 0.6 and 0.5%, respectively). Precision error was CV 0.82% for total fat mass and 0.86% for percentage fat. Precision was better for gynoid (root mean square 0.397 kg; CV 0.96%) than for android fat distribution (root mean square 0.780 kg, CV 2.32%). There was good agreement between consecutive measurements for all measurements (slope (s.e.) 0.993–1.002; all R2=0.99). The Lunar iDXA provided excellent precision for total body composition measurements. Research into the effect of body size on the precision of DXA body fat distribution measurements is required.
