GE Healthcare (GEHC) recently revealed major pediatric application enhancements for its GE Lunar Prodigy bone density system. The upgrades provide tools to evaluate the pediatric skeleton relative to a child's body size and skeletal age, in addition to the conventional chronological age comparison, the company said.

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the method of choice in evaluating BMD (bone mineral density) in children, but accurate assessment of the pediatric skeleton is more challenging due to the wide range of body sizes and rates of skeletal growth seen in children. Therefore, use of age-dependent standard deviations on Lunar equipment provides a more accurate comparison to reference, GEHC said.

Another exclusive enhancement involves evaluating a child's bone mass relative to bone size. These enhanced pediatric comparison tools give clinicians and researchers a better understanding of skeletal health in children with growth disorders and metabolic diseases.