Bone Density Measurment and Whole Body X-Ray

Dual energy linear X-ray detectors with fan beam X-ray generators are well suited to bone density measurement.

Lower energy X-rays are absorbed mainly by the soft tissue and higher energy X-rays by the bone. This enables the effect of X-ray absorption by soft tissue to be eliminated and bone density to be determined.

Dual energy LINX detectors, typically 200mm to 400mm, can be used for this application. A pitch of 1.6mm is normally suitable.

An alternative method is use of a pencil beam source and single point detector. The detector is scanned across the body to make the measurement.

A photomultiplier and scintillator can be used to provide a single point detector. This enables high and low energy peaks in the energy spectrum to be determined and the bone density to be measured.

Single energy linear X-ray detectors can produce a whole body X-ray scan by using a fan beam source and moving the detector across the body. 0.4mm or 0.8mm pitch detectors are used in this application.