bonescreen offers a novel, AI-based technology for non-invasive extraction of biomarkers from existing medical images to assist radiologists and clinicians in evaluating bone health. We combine artificial intelligence with conventional and software engineering to retrieve reliable and interpretable biomarkers, fully automated and perfectly integrated in current workflows and guidelines.

Why do we need biomarker extraction? The doubling of the population older than 60 years of age during the next three decades will bring an explosion of bone-health-related conditions. Among these, Osteoporosis represents the most common bone disease in humans:

One in three women and one in five men older than 50 years will have an osteoporotic fracture during their lifetime [Kanis, J.A., et al., Osteoporos Int, 2000. 11(8): p. 669-74.]. In Europe, osteoporotic fractures are the fourth leading cause of morbidity, after ischemic heart disease, dementia and lung cancer, however before chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischemic stroke[Hernlund, E., et al., Arch Osteoporos, 2013. 8: p. 136.]. More information on Epidemiology can be found at the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

Despite widely available and effective treatment options, more than 97% of osteoporosis-related health care costs are spent on treating fractures (>€50 billion/year in Europe) and only less than 3% on preventative measures. This treatment gap (e.g., 91% of patients in Germany who should be treated according to current guidelines do NOT receive the appropriate treatment) is mainly caused by a diagnostic gap which in turn is due to a lack of appropriate screening strategies [McCloskey E et al (2021) Osteoporos Int 32:251–259]. Thus, many medical societies advocate a population-based screening program based on bone density measurements [Chotiyarnwong P, Arch Osteoporos. 2022 Jun 28;17(1):87.].

bonescreen aims to increase screening rates for osteoporosis by utilizing existing imaging data to contribute to a value-based healthcare system [Löffler MT et al., Eur Radiol. 2021 Aug;31(8):6069-6077., Sollmann N et al., J Bone Miner Res. 2022 Jul;37(7):1287-1296.]