Quantitative Ultrasound.

Quantitative Ultrasound. Methods of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) are parametric approaches for determining properties of bone by means of analysis of sound waves after traversing of the bone or a part thereof. There are different procedures depending on the kind of bone and direction of transmission. Transverse transition through the calcaneus has been found as the best method for the prediction of osteo-porotic fractures, with a predictive power comparable to DXA. As long as no studies on the drug-mediated fracture reduction in a group of patients who received their treatment recommendations based on QUS criteria have been performed, no therapy using a QUS measurement without DXA measurement is recommended. QUS at the calcaneus is highly correlated with DXA at the same site but weakly with the density of other measurement sites such as the femur or the spine, so no diagnosis of osteoporosis with QUS is possible. Newer developments are focusing on measurement of the proximal femur, especially of the neck, and on the determination of bone strength parameters, which are not detectable with bone densitometry.