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Does a DXA bone density test involve a lot of radiation?

April 26, 2017bone density dxa involve radiation Test

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Does a DXA bone density test involve a lot of radiation?

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No. The radiation dose of a DXA bone density test is about 1/10 that of a chest x-ray and 1/500th of a CT scan (data from GE Healthcare brochure). Youll get about as much radiation from a DXA test as you would during a transcontinental flight. One big advantage of a DXA test is that it can provide images of the skeleton using very low radiation. If a problem is noted, these can be followed up with regular x-rays, which are sharper and provide greater detail. The figures below are examples of DXA images.