Access to Bone Density Measurements
Includes a Live Web Event on 04/26/2026 at 1:30 PM (EDT)
Access to Bone Density Measurements
Sunday, April 26, 2026, 1:30pm - 2:30pm Eastern Time (NY/USA)
Description and Objectives
This session will examine barriers to accessing bone density testing from a DXA technologist's perspective, with particular attention to patient populations who may be at increased risk for poor bone health but are not routinely referred for testing under current diagnostic ordering criteria or access to general healthcare. Participants will explore population-level factors that limit access to DXA services, including geographic, logistical, and health system constraints, as well as the impact of centralized scanning models and delayed scheduling on timely diagnosis and management. The session will also provide an overview of available peripheral and alternative bone assessment technologies—such as peripheral DXA (pDXA), quantitative ultrasound (QUS), and CT-derived bone mineral density—highlighting their potential role, strengths, and limitations in supporting bone health assessment and clinical decision-making when standard DXA access is limited.
After attending this lecture, participants will be able to:
- Explain population-level challenges affecting access to DXA services.
- Recognize limitations associated with centralized DXA scanning and delayed scheduling.
- Describe the advantages and limitations of peripheral and alternative bone density assessment technologies, including pDXA, QUS, and CT-derived BMD.
Handouts
All speakers are requested to provide handouts/lecture slides for registered attendees. Those that are provided for this session will be uploaded to the handouts tab and can be accessed/downloaded from that tab.
Kyla Kent, BA, CBDT
Technical Director
SAMBA Lab, Stanford University School of Medicine
Kyla Kent, BA, CBDT has been with Stanford University School of Medicine since 1991 in Adult Endocrine, Stanford Prevention Research Center and lastly as Technical Director of the Stanford Assessments of Muscle and Bone across the ages (SAMBA) Lab under the department of Pediatrics. Responsibilities include clinical facility management, protocol development, supervision of clinical staff, performance of DXA, HRpQCT, Biodex, functional strength assessments and other measures related to research conducted in the areas of childhood and adolescent bone health, bone metabolism, structural assessment, body composition, exercise, sleep, sarcopenia and healthy aging. Ms. Kent is a consultant in study design and instructor in bone density related imaging modalities for both the Palo Alto VA Hospital and Stanford Hospital, Stanford Children’s Hospital and the Stanford School of Medicine and internationally for bone mass measurement technique and analysis in growing skeletons. Ms. Kent is an active member of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD). She joined at its beginning, did take a short hiatus and rejoined when ISCD met in San Francisco to be on the test committee. She has served on many committees over the years and currently is chair of the 2026 Tech symposium, serves on the pediatric and body composition faculties and Ask an Expert. She has served on the Facility Accreditation committee since its inception in 2011. She has acted as the Director, clinical instructor and lecturer for one of the few California certified, Limited License x-ray permit in DXA training program in Oakland, CA.
ASRT Credit
This session is approved by ASRT for 1.00 Category A credits.