Arizona Arthritis Center
Hits the Highway for Better Bones

The Arizona Arthritis Center is putting its expertise on wheels to reach underserved populations in the state and educate patients about osteoporosis.

Riding in a new motor home equipped with a state-of-the-art DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) scanner, the Arthritis Center will visit rural communities, reservations, nursing homes and worksites throughout Arizona to screen patients for evidence of osteoporosis. Directed by David Yocum, M.D., the Arizona Arthritis Center has a long record of service on Arizona's Native American reservations and in rural communities.

Patients lie on the bed of the scanner, which can also measure total body composition and diagnose other illnesses such as arthritis. In a matter of minutes, the DEXA scanner measures the density of the spine and hip bones, then transmits the reading to a computer to create an image and analysis of the scanned area.

Although the DEXA scanner commonly is used in hospitals and clinics, the Arthritis Center's mobile unit is the first one of its kind in the state and one of about two dozen mobile scanners nationwide. The advantage of the mobile unit is that it makes these screenings available to patients who otherwise may not have access. People who are diagnosed with osteoporosis will be referred to their physicians.

• An analysis of the incidence of osteoporosis in rural areas, particularly its trends in the Native American and Hispanic populations.
• An analysis of how the knowledge of their bone density affects the behavior of post-menopausal women, that is, how this knowledge affects their decisions about calcium supplements, exercise and other preventive treatments.
• A comparison of the results of an osteogram, a toaster-size scanner that measures the density of the wrist, against the results of the DEXA mobile scanner. This study would help determine the accuracy of the osteogram.