By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – May is National Osteoporosis Month, and a new local business is using a rare opportunity to screen for bone density.
Shanon Laesch, an advanced Practice Nurse at Bone Health Clinic in Bloomington, uses the only ultrasound bone density machine in the United States.
“This is wonderful because I can see the results immediately, I can discuss it with the patient right away; we can talk about treatment options, what we can do for their plan of care. And so if we have the machine, we do the exam, and we have immediate results. I’m not sending them off somewhere, getting it, and then seeing them a month later or so to go over the results with them.
The ultrasound bone density machine, which is the first of its kind in the U.S., uses Radiofrequency Echographic Multi Spectrometry Radiation-free technology for bone density.
Alex Exposito, Vice President of Sales at Echolight, which produces the machine, said the ultrasound machine is the first commercially produced machine on the market.
“The importance of having this exam is to be able to establish a baseline or to see if you are osteoporotic or osteopenic, which would require you to go on some type of regimen or lifestyle change in order to improve or maintain your bone health.”
Laesch, who opened her practice in April, said often, bone health is undertreated.
“That’s been documented that it is not something that is not addressed all the time when women go in for their office visits. So, they made May National Osteoporosis month to remind women to get your bone density exams, get your calcium and vitamin D levels checked, make sure you are getting your weight-bearing exercises in doing those kinds of things.
“Because Osteoporosis is called a ‘silent disease,’ it doesn’t usually bother you until you break a bone, but until then, people don’t know they have a problem with their bones, and the only way to find that out is to get a bone density exam.”
The ultrasound machine will be at Bone Health Clinic for the entire month of May.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
