5 major advantages of EchoMRI™ systems over DEXA for whole body composition analysis

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At Echo Medical Systems, we are not only experts in our own methodology, but we are also experts in other methods of body composition analysis, including Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA or DXA). With that is mind, we feel that it is important for you understand that using DEXA for body composition analysis is a less-than-optial methodology for measuring fat mass and lean mass, and that its only remaining, useful application, when compared to other whole body composition analysis systems on the market today, is bone density scans.

Sedation/Anesthesia Requirements: DEXA scans require that the animals be sedated or anesthetized, and our NMR-based approach does not. Many of our clients believe that this is one of the top 5 advantages to the NMR methodology. Many times, anesthesia or sedation can alter an animal’s eating habits for up to 24-hours, thus – skewing the researcher’s science for those days that the animal is in recovery. In contrast, EchoMRI™ does not require any anesthesia or sedation, and thus, as soon as the scan is over, the animal goes on with life as normal without any time lost, or diet interruption caused by the anesthesia/sedation drugs.
Scan Times: DEXA scans can take several minutes, even with small animals. EchoMRI™ scans generally take about 1-minute per animal (from the time that the animal is placed inside the machine to the time that your results are displayed on the computer monitor). Therefore, you can scan many more animals in a single day using an EchoMRI™ as opposed to using a DEXA, thus making your scanning sessions much more efficient.
Radiation Exposure: There is no ionizing radiation associated with the EchoMRI™ (unlike with DEXA), and therefore, it is much more suited for short-term and longitudinal studies where you may want to do multiple scans on a single subject, in a single day, or over several contiguous days, weeks, and months, without exposing the animal to any harmful x-ray radiation.
Available Parameters: DEXA scans can give you fat and lean mass estimates. However, EchoMRI™ can give you free fluid volume and total body water measurements, in addition to fat mass and lean mass.
Precision: The data generated with an EchoMRI™ are as much as 25 times more precise than a DEXA¹.

With this information in mind, it is important for you, the consumer, to really examine what is most important to the body composition analysis research efforts that you, your team, and/or your colleagues are pursuing. Would you rather have equipment that is less than optimal in regard to conducting whole body composition analyses, or would you prefer equipment which, in the long run, has the most advantages to offer?

If you have interest in in-vivo organ or bone studies or you have a need to do regional body composition analysis, we recommend that you also take a look at the LaTheta CT scanner for in-vivo small animal research.

¹ Tinsley, FC., Taicher, GZ., Heiman, ML. (2004) Evaluation of a new Quantitative Magnetic Resonance (QMR) method for whole body composition analysis of mice. Obesity Research; 12:150-160.