<p>16th December 2010 PRESS RELEASE</p><p>OSTEOPOROSIS PATIENTS BENEFIT FROM NEW STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY</p><p>Patients at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust, locally known as ‘The Min’ are among the first in the country to benefit from new technology designed to help identify and treat patients with a high risk of bone fractures. Almost one in two women and one in five men over the age of 50 will break a bone, often due to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis occurs as a result of thinning of the bone which causes it to become fragile and break easily.</p><p>The Hologic bone mineral densitometer at the hospital, located in central Bath, is one of the first in the UK to be equipped with the very latest APEX software. This gives improved precision when monitoring changes in bone density over time. The software provides additional information about the growing skeleton of children, enabling us to relate change in bone density to their growth. </p><p>The hospital is extremely grateful to the Bath branch of the National Osteoporosis Society, chaired by Maxine Zell, who through donations and fundraising activities provided the funds to purchase the software.</p><p>Maxine Zell said: “It’s important that the hospital is equipped with the latest systems and techniques. In the Bath Group of the National Osteoporosis Society most of the members are patients and benefit from the treatments there. The hospital is very close to our heart which is why we are pleased to help as much as we can.”</p><p>The hospital offers a comprehensive osteoporosis service, for adults and children, led by specialist consultant Dr Ashok Bhalla, for all patients nationally.</p><p>Dr Bhalla said: “We’re known for our expertise in treating osteoporosis patients and we are delighted to be one of the first hospitals in the country to receive this ‘state of the art’ technology.</p><p>“We offer our patients the best possible service, and this more sophisticated software will help us maintain our high standards.”</p><p>ENDS</p><p>Press contact: Emma Mooney, Marketing & Communications Manager RNHRD 01225 465941 ext 211 [email protected] </p><p>Notes for Editors:  The RNHRD NHS FT is a national specialist rehabilitation and rheumatology hospital based in Bath. Offering services to adults, children and young people the Trust has expertise in general and complex:  Rheumatological and musculoskeletal conditions  Neurological rehabilitation  Chronic pain management  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME  www.rnhrd.nhs.uk The National Osteoporosis Society was established in Bath in 1986.</p>