Expires 9/30/2026: This advanced densitometry course focuses on how vertebral fracture imaging advances the diagnosis and treatment of patients at risk of osteoporotic fractures. It emphasizes the importance of vertebral fractures in the clinical management of osteoporosis, including recognition of lateral spine images of a normal spine, and other findings that may be confused with vertebral fractures. Fracture recognition, analysis, and best-practice patient positioning are detailed to ensure ideal image acquisition, interpretation, and reporting. It is recommended, but not required, that registrants attend the Quality Bone Densitometry Course (Clinician or Technologist) prior to attending the VFR course.

Expires 9/1/2027: This session will provide an in-depth, technologist-focused review of DXA acquisition and analysis variability across manufacturers, with emphasis on accurate region-of-interest (ROI) placement and interpretation for spine and hip examinations. Participants will examine common sources of technologist error, including suboptimal patient positioning, inappropriate post-acquisition analysis adjustments, and incorrect scan mode selection, and will learn strategies to prevent these pitfalls. The session will underscore the critical role of immediate scan review while the patient remains present, particularly for ensuring correct bone mapping and diagnostic integrity. In addition, participants will explore challenges related to serial comparability and review manufacturer-specific software glitches that may impact longitudinal bone density assessment.

Expires 9/1/2027: This educational session will provide a practical overview of current pharmacologic options for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Participants will review commonly used bone medications and gain a clear understanding of how these therapies differ in their mechanisms of action on bone remodeling. The program will also address expected changes in bone mineral density associated with various treatments, including realistic timelines for achieving clinically meaningful improvement, to support informed decision-making and patient counseling.

Expires 8/14/2027: While much of our clinical focus is the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis, it is important to recognize the characteristic imaging features of other causes of decreased or increased bone mineral density, pathologic fracture, and other disorders that may mimic osteoporosis. This talk reviews the spectrum of imaging findings of common (and some uncommon) metabolic bone diseases, differential diagnosis, and pearls and pitfalls for accurate diagnosis. Examples of delayed or missed diagnosis will be highlighted.

Expires 8/14/2027: This talk explores how AI can transform opportunistic imaging, mining routinely acquired imaging studies, to detect low bone density and identify patients at risk for osteoporosis without additional costs or radiation. The end-to-end pipeline from algorithm development and external validation to workflow integration and reporting, highlighting performance, calibration, and generalizability across sites and scanners will be discussed. Real-world case studies will illustrate clinical impact on fracture risk stratification and care pathways and implementation logistics.

Expires 7/14/2027: This talk will examine the role of DXA in diagnosing sarcopenia, highlighting its accessibility and value for estimating lean mass in clinical and research settings. It will critically discuss key limitations, including variability across devices, cut-off definitions, and the inability of DXA to capture muscle mass, quality and function. Practical implications for clinicians will be addressed, with guidance on how to interpret DXA findings within a comprehensive sarcopenia assessment. The second talk reviews the clinical application of bone turnover markers in osteoporosis management, with emphasis on monitoring response to oral bisphosphonate therapy. The lecture explains practical approaches for interpreting CTX, P1NP, and other markers to assess adherence, identify responders, and guide treatment decisions during and after therapy.

Expires 8/1/2027: This session will provide DXA technologists with an overview of less commonly used DXA features and companion technologies that extend the clinical utility of standard bone density testing. Participants will review specialized DXA features including vertebral fracture assessment (VFA), full femur imaging (FFI), lateral distal femur (LDF) imaging, and orthopedic applications, with emphasis on utility, indications, acquisition techniques and analysis. The program will also address performance of additional DXA-derived analyses such as FRAX and hip geometry, highlighting technologist responsibilities in data accuracy and workflow integration. In addition, participants will explore the role of DXA companion software—including trabecular bone score (TBS) and 3D Shaper to better understand their technical requirements, outputs, and clinical relevance in comprehensive skeletal assessment.

Expires 7/14/2027: In this session, I will be examining differences in bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture risks in different racial and ethnic populations.  BMD is determined by a complex interplay of genetic factors, lifestyle, hormonal levels, and physical characteristics, with approximately 60% to 80% of peak bone mass variance attributed to genetics. Race and ethnicity are significant independent determinants of BMD, influencing peak bone mass, rate of bone loss, and overall fracture risk. I will also be discussing how this information can be used to translate to better patient care.

Expires 7/14/2027: AFFs are associated with some osteoporosis treatments and may occur without any treatment. The risk of AFF for most patients is very low and can be minimized with appropriate care. This presentation will address strategies for early recognition AFF, treatment of incomplete and complete AFF, and management of osteoporosis after AFF.

Expires 6/14/2027: This session will prepare DXA technologists to effectively support patient education and engagement within their professional scope of practice. Participants will explore strategies for appropriate technologist–patient communication related to fracture prevention, bone health, nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle modification, with emphasis on the use of motivational interviewing techniques to encourage positive health behaviors. The program will also guide technologists in identifying reliable patient education materials suitable for distribution in the DXA setting. In addition, participants will review the role of physical activity and weight-bearing exercise in maintaining bone and muscle health, enabling technologists to reinforce consistent, evidence-based messaging while supporting referring provider recommendations.