ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2025
Exploring the potential cost-effectiveness and societal burden implications of screening for fracture risk in a UK general radiography setting.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Opportunistic assessment of osteoporosis using hip and pelvic X-rays with OsteoSight™: validation of an AI-based tool in a US population.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2025Article
- Diagnostic utility of IBEX Bone Health for assessment of osteoporosis from knee radiographs.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundFragility fractures lead to considerable societal costs and individual suffering. Despite the availability of cost-effective treatments for high-risk patients, a significant treatment gap exists, with many high-risk individuals remaining unidentified and untreated. The aim of this study was to explore the potential cost-effectiveness and societal impact of opportunistic screening for fracture risk with IBEX Bone Health (BH), a software solution that provides bone mineral density from wrist radiographs, in a UK general radiography setting.
methodsThe study used a health economic model that compared the health outcomes and costs of screening with IBEX BH versus usual care for men and women aged 50 and older who had a forearm radiograph for any reason. The model incorporated data on fracture incidence, fracture risk reduction, mortality, quality of life, and fracture and treatment costs from published sources and Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. Costs and health outcomes in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were simulated over the remaining lifetime of patients. The analysis took the perspective of the National Health Service (NHS) and Personal Social Services in the UK.
resultsThe results showed that screening with IBEX BH was associated with a gain of 0.013 QALYs and a cost saving of £109 per patient compared with usual care, making it a dominant (cost-saving) strategy. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results under various assumptions. Widespread adoption of IBEX BH in the NHS was estimated to save 8,066 QALYs and £65,930,555 in healthcare costs over the lifetime of patients visiting hospitals for wrist radiographs each year.
conclusionsIBEX BH could be a cost-effective tool for early identification and prevention of fragility fractures in the UK, addressing the current challenges of low provision and access to fracture risk assessment and treatment.
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