U.S. FDA Clears GE Healthcare's New Bone Density System

MILWAUKEE—The federal Food and Drug Association today approved GE Healthcare's Lunar iDXA, a new bone mineral density system designed to help doctors detect, diagnose and monitor treatment of osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass and increased risk of fracture, more accurately and earlier in the disease process. The system also enables clinicians to simultaneously assess body composition and ascertain fat distribution.

In addition, GE's iDXA is capable of measuring patients up to 400 lbs., which will help clinicians assess and diagnose larger patients, including professional athletes who traditionally have not been able to receive a comprehensive fitness diagnosis due to their size.

"iDXA images provide a substantial improvement in resolution and quality. I am extremely optimistic that this better image quality will improve the confidence with which we can identify vertebral fractures using DXA," said Dr. Neil Binkley, University of Wisconsin Osteoporosis Center in Madison, WI.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $15 billion unit of General Electric Company.