Dear AuntMinnie Member,
In what’s been hailed as a landmark decision, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently cleared the use of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) measurements as endpoints in phase III clinical trials of osteoporosis drugs. Read the details here.
After you’ve read that story, check out how the new FDA rule could play out in practice, with a DEXA study we covered, for instance, suggesting that romosozumab (Evenity, Amgen) is associated with large bone mineral density gains in postmenopausal women. In another DEXA study we covered, findings suggest that electrical stimulation with a portable low-frequency device can also improve bone health in patients.
Still, despite these advancements, DEXA suffers from limited availability, and researchers have turned to AI to potentially fill the gap. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Densitometry, a team from Japan discussed developing a model that can predict osteoporosis from frontal lumbar spine x-rays.
AI is clearly here to stay, but is it ready for autonomous reads of chest x-rays? That was the question in a debate we covered at RSNA 2025.
In addition, we covered a trio of articles on new x-ray technology. In separate studies, researchers suggested that dynamic chest radiography may be a simpler alternative to pulmonary function tests for diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and can be used for evaluating acute respiratory failure in patients at the bedside. Meanwhile, dark-field chest radiography developers suggested that adding the technology to conventional chest radiography can improve pneumothorax detection.
X-ray may be the oldest modality in radiology, but its images continue to reveal new insights. For instance, we covered research by a team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston suggesting that thigh muscle measurements on x-rays are independently associated with one-year mortality following hip fracture surgery.
Finally, a story posted on the fact-checking website Snopes caught our eye. Apparently, a viral rumor has spread that the Lego Group added barium sulfate to its bricks so they will show up on x-rays if swallowed. False, Snopes said.
For more x-ray news, be sure to check in regularly with our Digital X-Ray content area. And as always, if you have x-ray topics you’d like us to consider, please contact me.
Will Morton
Associate Editor
AuntMinnie.com