Investigation of the Performance of Radiofrequency Echographic Multispectrometry (REMS) to Assess Bone Density and Bone Fragility in People Living in England, Scotland and Wales

All patients who undergo REMS scans through the OsteoscanUK bone health service, are provided with a comprehensive consent form at least two weeks ahead of the scan and are required to complete the form before the scan is performed. The process allows consent for use of their anonymized data for research purposes and is consistent with the General Data Protection Regulations in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe.

Once a REMS scan has been completed, data is extracted from the report and is entered into an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Data collected includes: age, age at menopause if female, current Fracture Risk Assessment (FRAX) score, body mass index, bone mineral density results for the hip and spine, fragility scores for the hip and spine and any history of a fragility fracture.

The spreadsheet is securely stored on a password protected server and the data controller is the only person with access. Associate researchers will be provided with data from exports of parts of the spreadsheet to allow them to carry out statistical analyses. All such data will be managed on secure computers controlled by OsteoscanUK.

Results of the data analysis will be collected, analysed and presented as a series of papers to be published in peer review journals. At the time of submission of such papers, the anonymized data set would be made available to the journal editors and reviewers as required for the purposes of publishing.