Bone Density Screenings -Reply

[Chris Alston <alstonc@odrge.odr.georgetown.edu>]

>Content-Disposition: inline
>Date:         Tue, 16 Dec 1997 08:54:19 -0500
>Reply-To: Medical Physics Mailing List <MEDPHYS@LISTS.WAYNE.EDU>
>Sender: Medical Physics Listserver <medphys@lists.wayne.edu>
>From: Steve Cartwright <Steve_Cartwright@KETTHEALTH.COM>
>Subject:      Bone Density Screenings -Reply
>To: Multiple recipients of list MEDPHYS <MEDPHYS@LISTS.WAYNE.EDU>
>
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>The local Krogers grocery store (a huge Midwestern chain) near me
>recently announced bone density screenings.  I didn't attend, but I
>assumed they used an X-ray densitometer.   There are far fewer
>regulatory issues using X-rays instead of some radioisotope.  If they
>can put HDR brachytherapy in a truck and get away with it you could
>certainly put a low-output X-ray machine and drive it around.  It's
>reasonable to assume that the occupants of the truck and passers-by
>receive little scattered radiation.  The question becomes the benefit
>to the people who signed up for the screening.  Having voluntarily
>subjected themselves to a dose of X-rays, what do they do with the
>information that was gathered?  Do they go to their private
>physicians for an evaluation?  Are trained and courteous medical
>personnel on hand to suggest a course of action (for a reasonable
>fee)?  Or do they just go into Krogers and buy a lot of stuff with
>calcium in it?
>