Egyptian women 50 years and older are more than twice as likely to suffer from the brittle bone disease osteoporosis than the global average. Given that worldwide, for women more than 45 years old, osteoporosis accounts for more days spent in hospital than other diseases such as diabetes and breast cancer, early detection of the disease is important.

GE Healthcare will help doctors address this in Egypt, with the first-ever global installation of GE’s Aria™ DXA system, a new diagnostic solution for osteoporosis. The unit, which produces high-quality bone mineral density (BMD) images for patients within 60 seconds, was recently installed at Reaya Diagnostics Clinic in New Cairo. Osteoporosis is a systemic disease characterized by a decrease in skeletal bone mass and is considered a worldwide health problem, as well as in Egypt.

“Osteoporosis takes a huge personal and economic toll on patients in Egypt. As a new center, our aim is to offer our patients the latest diagnostic technologies, said Dr. Tamer El Refaiy, a radio diagnosis consultant at the clinic. “By installing GE’s Aria™ DXA, our aim is to help our patients with early detection of the disease in its early stages in a quick and efficient way.”

The system delivers high-quality images that give doctors a high degree of clinical confidence at the most critical scan sites for osteoporosis – the spine, femur and forearm. The system’s speed and workflow efficiency provides additional advantages for healthcare facilities with high patient volumes. As well, Aria’s dose-efficient design means there is no need for special shielding or protective clothing, while the low dose helps reduce patient concerns about bone density testing.

More generally across Egypt, there are more than 14,400 GE Healthcare technologies deployed in hospitals and clinics, part of GE’s commitment to partnership with the public and private healthcare sector in Egypt.