Master Image Modalities 2026 – Paint Your Path to Success!

DXA uses two-energy X-ray beams to separate bone signal from soft-tissue signal. Because bone and soft tissue attenuate X-rays differently at two energies, the scanner solves for the amount of bone mineral content in a region while accounting for the surrounding soft tissue. The result is an areal BMD value (g/cm^2) that reflects bone density with the soft-tissue contribution effectively removed from the measurement. So, the measurement is made without the influence of soft tissue.

Water is a component of soft tissue, air isn’t a meaningful contributor in this context, and bone is what you’re measuring, not what’s excluded.