REMS (Radiofrequency Echographic Multi-Spectrometry) and its application on diagnosis and management of osteoporosis was highlighted in one of the Symposia of the recent International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Congress, which took place from April 11-14, 2024 in London, UK. REMS is a measurement that allows bone health status assessment and fracture risk prediction by means of a rapid ultrasound scan on reference axial sites of the skeleton. It operates in the following steps: ultrasound scan (software guided); B-mode image reconstruction; and radiofrequency signal analysis (with automatic identification of bone interfaces and ROIs on raw signals). It is a novel technique for the measurement of BMD (BMD, T-score) and bone fragility (Fragility Score), is radiation-free, can be used for mass screening or diagnosis and for short-term follow up and has a good accuracy and precision. REMS automatically eliminates raw signals that belong to calcifications, osteophytes and other artifacts avoiding the overestimation of lumbar BMD associated to DXA. Given the non-ionising nature and portability of the technology, REMS is likely to provide novel opportunities to broaden access both within and without healthcare settings. Furthermore, this technique allows reliable estimation of muscle strength in both healthy subjects and in the setting of musculoskeletal disease, allowing the onset and evolution of diseases like sarcopenia by early detection of corresponding tissue deteriorations through dedicated REMS parameters. More information is needed about the predictive capacity of these measures in relation to DXA BMD and FRAX probability, together with dependency on other risk factors, in order to fully understand the role of the technology in the broader context of fracture risk assessment.
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