As the global population ages, the costs associated with osteoporosis- related disease are predicted to rise dramatically. Osteoporosis is a silent disease that affects more than 200 million people worldwide and is especially prevalent in China, where there are more than 125 million postmenopausal women at risk. Of these, more than 100 million are estimated to currently have the disease in various stages. The traditional Chinese diet lacks calcium, which is a requirement to build strong bones.

CompuMed, Inc. -- a developer of Computer Aided Diagnostic (CAD) solutions for the healthcare industry -- served as a featured sponsor of the 1st Peripheral Densitometry Workshop held recently in Hangzhou, China.

The Workshop was held in conjunction with the 2005 International Osteoporosis Conference and was co-hosted by a distinguished panel of professors including Dr. Didier Hans of Geneva University Hospital, Dr. John Shepherd of the University of California at San Francisco and Dr. Wei Yu of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (Beijing, China). Topics and curriculum were developed with input from many of the world's foremost osteoporosis experts working in partnership with leading medical device manufacturers. According to Professor Hans, the Workshop served as the launch of a worldwide series of training courses for end users of peripheral densitometers.

One of the speakers at the workshop was Dr. Jianhua Wang, a renowned orthopedic surgeon from the Aviation Industry Center Hospital in Beijing. The hospital recently earned international attention when it was designated as an orthopedic treatment center for the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics. During the workshop, Dr. Wang highlighted his clinical experience with the OsteoGram in more than 6,000 patients. Dr. Wang received an award from the Beijing city government for his continuing work with the OsteoGram in screening at risk patients for osteoporosis.

"We were pleased to be among the sponsors for this truly international event," said CompuMed CEO, Jerry McLaughlin. "Peripheral densitometry devices, such as the OsteoGram, will play an increasingly important role in developing nations, where expensive, dedicated bone mineral density screening equipment is simply not affordable."

CompuMed's OsteoGram is a software-based system for screening, diagnosing and monitoring osteoporosis. It provides an accurate, low-cost alternative to DXA bone mineral density (BMD) screening, and can be utilized in conjunction with rapidly proliferating digital (i.e., filmless) x-ray equipment, as well as existing film-based machines. The OsteoGram's vast benefits in terms of cost and efficiency facilitate wider osteoporosis screening and treatment of at-risk patients. It is far less costly and cumbersome to use than conventional BMD testing systems, which require dedicated and expensive equipment, computers, office space and staff.