E: info@osteopulse.co.uk

Welcome to OsteoPulse

Our inexpensive device can be used in a primary care setting to measure bone strength and determine if osteoporosis is present.

More certainty in diagnosis in less time for less cost.

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Who Are We?

OsteoPulse is a project based in the University of Salford, UK, led by academic leaders in signal processing, machine learning, and vibro-acoustics. We have clinical partners in both primary and secondary care across the UK and the EU who want to improve the methodology of diagnosing osteoporosis. Combining the clinical insights with the cutting edge in engineering and scientific knowledge, we are proposing a product which will give doctors the information they need to make better decisions on who require osteoporosis therapy and who do not.

The Problem

The current method of diagnosing osteoporosis requires x-ray scans called DXA scans to measure Bone Mineral Density BMD. This is then compared to a healthy reference to produce a T-Score. Values below a certain number gives a diagnosis of osteoporosis. BMD is correlated to fracture risk but is not physically related to strength of bones, where structure and stiffness are the key factors that directly relate to the bone strength

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there are even longer secondary care waiting lists for DXA scans. The UK’s population is aging and this will also increase the need to assess for Osteoporosis.

We urgently need a new methodology for identifying the patients who will benefit from medical and lifestyle intervention earlier to prevent fractures. This needs to be based in primary care in order to be effective, but can be used in any clinical setting.

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Our Solution

Measure Bone Strength

By measuring the bone’s vibration and extracting the key features, the specific stiffness can be accurately estimated.

This is directly related to the bone’s strength and therefore is a better representation of the condition of the bone.

This information can be integrated into current decision processes and software to give you more confidence in diagnosing if your patient needs treatment.

DXA Alternatives

Current alternatives to DXA have little clinical adoption in the UK owing to lack of clinical evidence that it provides a better cost benefit than the DXA pathway.

Other technologies do exist, but they either:

a) use expensive hardware with required radiographer training with a high change cost or

b) lack the support of clinicians to warrant being part of the pathway.

Reduce change cost

Our approach has been to reduce this change cost by incorporating the technology that doctors and nurses are already familiar with and trained in using.

We have brought practitioners from both primary and secondary care onto our team to inform the design process and ensure the solution is relevant and practical for clinicians.

Who can we help?

CLINICIANS

Clinicians are the major userbase and customer segment though sub-segments include GPs, consultants, and nurses. Further interest groups would include physiotherapists, osteoporosis drug companies and private clinics specialising in women’s health and the elderly.

PATIENTS

While we are focusing on clinicians, we want to include patients in our product development and empower them to use this technology for their own bone health. This hope to achieve this goal once the method has been established and the hardware can be further developed.

Help Us Improve

The current implementation relies on current technology which has been repurposed for our needs. Though this has benefits, we know there is noise and other artifacts inherent in this approach. But guided by feedback and demand from the market, we can design our own hardware to reduce these effects and increase the accuracy further.

We would love to hear your thoughts, take our survey and help mould this project into something beneficial to you!

Clinical Survey

Patient Survey