The questions people actually ask.
Radiation, pregnancy, how this compares to a scale or an MRI, and what the price covers. If your question is not here, ask it — we would rather answer it than have you guess.
Safety and radiation
Is the radiation safe?
A DEXA scan uses a fraction of the dose of a regular X-ray — comparable to a few hours of natural background radiation. It's still why a physician reviews every request first.
Can I come if I'm pregnant?
No — during pregnancy we don't scan, even at this low dose. The questionnaire checks for this, and you're welcome afterwards.
Practical matters
Is it covered by insurance?
No — this is a preventive scan you choose yourself, so it isn't reimbursed. The €150 covers the scan, the physician review and the results walkthrough.
Who performs the scan?
A trained technician performs the scan; a licensed physician approves it beforehand and signs off on your report.
How it compares
How is this different from an MRI?
They answer different questions. An MRI images tissue and structures in detail and is a diagnostic tool a doctor orders when something specific needs looking at. A DEXA measures what your body is made of — fat, muscle and bone — and where it sits. A DEXA is quicker, far cheaper and uses a very low dose; it is not a substitute for an MRI and it looks for nothing that an MRI looks for.
Why not just use a scale or a smart body-fat monitor?
A scale gives you one number for your whole body, and that number cannot tell you whether you lost fat or muscle. A bio-impedance monitor — the kind in a smart scale — sends a small current through you and estimates the split from how easily it passes; that estimate shifts with how much you have drunk, eaten or trained that day. A DEXA measures the tissues separately and by region, so it can say where fat sits rather than only how much there is. That distinction is the whole point of this scan.