Supercomputer helps osteoporosis diagnoses

Lausanne, Switzerland -- Swiss scientists announced an achievement in supercomputing simulations they say could vastly improve osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment.

Osteoporosis -- reduced bone mass that causes an increased susceptibility to fracture -- is typically diagnosed after it has progressed beyond repair.

Using an IBM Blue Gene supercomputer, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the IBM Zurich Research Lab said they demonstrated, within a few minutes, the most extensive simulations of human bone structures ever conducted.

The scientists said their achievement could lead to the development of better clinical tools to diagnose and treat osteoporosis -- the most widespread bone disease known, which has healthcare costs second only to those associated with the treatment of cancer.

"With these simulations, researchers can provide a kind of dynamic 'heat map' of the strength of the bone, showing exactly where the bone structure is damaged and at what load a bone is likely to fracture," IBM said in a statement. "Such powerful simulations could be routinely adopted in future computer tomography, greatly enhancing clinicians' ability to analyze the risk of fractures and hence to improve treatment."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.