May is Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month—and the perfect time to schedule your bone density exam at the new Baylor Diagnostic Imaging Center at Craig Ranch, an outpatient department of Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. The facility’s manager, Glenn Skinner, explains more about this test and the center.
Q: What is a bone density test?
A: Using X-rays to measure how much calcium and other bone minerals are in the bone, this test is a good predictor of your osteoporosis risk.
Q: Who should have the exam?
A: In general, women over 65 and men over 70 are advised to get screened, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. However, when individuals have risk factors, such as being small and thin, a diet low in calcium or vitamin D, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, their physicians may recommend the test earlier.
“People should remember that it is not just a women’s disease,” Skinner adds. “It may be more common in women, but men have osteoporosis, too.”
Q: What can patients expect?
A: “It’s a very straightforward test,” Skinner says. “The exam itself takes less than 10 minutes. You lie down on a table, and a robotic arm sweeps above you. There’s no pain, and it’s quick and easy.”
Q: What makes the Craig Ranch facility unique?
A: “In addition to our great location, one advantage we have,” Skinner says, “is that the table weight limit is 450 pounds. The table limit at most diagnostic centers is 300 or 350 pounds.”
In addition, the outpatient environment at Craig Ranch is distinguished by its customer service. “We provide great service to every person who is seen here, and you can see that high level of service the moment you walk in the door.”
Craig Ranch is also one of just six sites in the world to offer dual-head molecular breast imaging (MBI), an exam that can help find breast tumors that might be missed with other screening tools. MBI is not meant to replace mammography but is ideal for dense breast tissue and patients with increased risk of breast cancer.
Q: What other services does the center offer?
A: The center also offers mammography and ultrasound, and will soon offer MRI, stereotactic biopsy, CT and digital radiography.
Imaging services require a physician’s order. To schedule a procedure at the Baylor Diagnostic Imaging Center at Craig Ranch, have your physician's office call 469-814-5500. The first 100 guests will receive a free gift.