HIQA Inspections
The DEXA units at UHL & St Camillus are subject to HIQA inspections to ensure national agreed standards for radiation protection are adhered to. You can find the 2 recent inspection reports here:
St Camillus: https://www.hiqa.ie/system/files?file=inspectionreports/St%20Camillus%20Hospital%2C%2010%20April%202024.pdf
Least Significant Change
As part of maintaining quality assurance for DEXA and in particular repeat DEXA scans over time it is good practice to measure a parameter called ”least significant change”. When comparing bone density results from different measurements over time, it is important to know if a change in bone density is significant, or simply a variation that is within the “noise” of the test.
In order for us to determine the variation in our own Units it was necessary for us to perform two DEXA scans on the same day for 30 patients per operator in an effort to work this out.
We are indebted to those patients who helped us with this process.
UHL LSC
The International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) Advanced Precision Calculator was used to measure LSC.
| AP SPINE | ||
| Operator: | LSC (g/cm²) | LSC % |
| 1 | 0.052 | 4.61 |
| 2 | 0.032 | 2.92 |
| 3 | 0.044 | 3.79 |
| Combined (Facility) | 0.044 | 3.84 |
| Femur | ||
| Name: | LSC (g/cm²) | LSC % |
| 1 | 0.031 | 3.80 |
| 2 | 0.024 | 2.80 |
| 3 | 0.031 | 3.47 |
| Combined (Facility) | 0.029 | 3.38 |
All 3 operators have an LSC that does not exceed the values (5.3% for lumbar spine, 5% Proximal Femur) set out in the Irish DXA society guidelines.
St Camillus LSC
The LSC for St Camillus DEXA Unit is currently being compiled and will be available shortly.