Oscare Medical Showcases a Handheld Ultrasound Device for Osteoporosis Assessment at Medica

By Oscare Medical Oy | 11.15.16

Device makes screening for osteoporosis simple, reliable, and affordable.

Oscare Medical Oy announces is demonstrating its handheld low frequency ultrasound device, the OsCare Sono for osteoporosis assessment, at this year’s Medica trade show at the Team Finland booth B5 in Hall 15. Medica, the world’s largest medical exhibition, is being held Nov. 14-17 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Osteoporosis is estimated to affect 22 million women and 5.5 million men in Europe, with most of them unaware that they suffer from this silent disease until they suffer one or several low energy fractures. One out of three women and one out of five men 50 years old will experience osteoporotic fractures in their remaining lifetime.

The dual energy X-ray method (DXA) is the gold-standard for confirming a diagnosis of osteoporosis, but the expense, and limited availability, of DXA make it an impractical technique for screening people at an increased risk for osteoporosis. By assessing bone strength from the forearm radial bone using ultrasound, the OsCare Sono allows for safe and inexpensive assessment of an individual’s osteoporosis risk. Because OsCare Sono is easy to use and provides the measurement result in a matter of minutes, it is especially suitable for screening. Those individuals found to be at an increased risk for osteoporosis based on the OsCare Sono measurement result, can be directed for further investigation with DXA, according to doctor’s judgement.

OsCare Sono measurements have been shown to correlate with bone cortical thickness, bone elasticity and bone mineral density (BMD), including BMD of the deeper cortical layers—suggesting the device offers enhanced sensitivity to early osteoporotic changes.

The Oscare Sono is a compact, handheld device designed for osteoporosis risk assessment in clinics and low-threshold locations, such as high street pharmacies. The device attaches via a USB connector to a standard PC. A measurement is taken from the forearm over a few minutes using harmless ultrasound. An individual’s measurement is compared to the normal value observed in healthy young women, and the final Oscare Sono result is ready for counseling.

Oscare Medical was founded in 2007 to commercialize the results of a decade of research into bone health at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Since 2013, Oscare Medical has been majority-owned by Nasdaq-OMX-listed Revenio Group Corp., which also markets the Icare tonometer product family. The Oscare Sono is CE-marked and is on sale in several European and Middle Eastern countries.