The OFR-Project to bring new methods for the assessment of
hip fracture risk

Osteoporosis and related hip fractures have become one of the most significant public health problems. Presently, osteoporosis is under-diagnosed. Bone density measurements in clinical use have been shown to be insufficient for individual fracture risk assessment. Majority of fractures occur in individuals without diagnosed osteoporosis, suggesting that there is a clear need for the development of more sensitive risk assessment tools.

The Universities of Oulu, Jyväskylä and Kuopio have started a cooperative 3 year Osteoporotic Fracture Risk (OFR) research project, in which new methods for individual hip fracture risk assessment are being developed. The project is part of Tekes' Finnwell program, and in addition to the aforementioned universities Oulu Deaconess Institute and six technology and healthcare companies contribute to the project.