Validation of a Deep Learning Tool for Opportunistic Osteoporosis Screening Using Routine Non-Contrast CT Scans

September 1, 2026 updated by: Yang Fan, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Prospective Clinical Validation Study of a Deep Learning Model for Opportunistic Osteoporosis Screening Based on Non-Contrast CT Scans

The goal of this clinical trial is to test if an artificial intelligence (AI) tool called DeepBMD can accurately identify people at high risk for osteoporosis using routine chest or abdomen CT scans. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  1. Can the DeepBMD tool correctly identify people who have osteoporosis compared to the standard bone density test, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)?
  2. Is it practical to use this AI tool in real-world hospital settings to find and contact high-risk patients? Researchers will use the DeepBMD tool to analyze existing CT scans. If the tool flags a patient as high risk, researchers will call them to invite them for a standard bone density test (DXA).

Participants will:

  1. Have their existing chest or abdomen CT scan analyzed by the DeepBMD AI tool;
  2. Receive a phone call from the research team if identified as high risk;
  3. Visit the clinic for a free standard bone density test (DXA) if they agree to participate.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Hubei
      • Wuhan, Hubei, China, 430022
        • Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients who underwent non-contrast CT at our hospital (Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology) and were identified as high-risk for osteoporosis by the DeepBMD model.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Underwent non-contrast CT at our institution, with qualified image quality and no severe artifacts;
  • Identified as high-risk for osteoporosis by the DeepBMD model;
  • Had valid contact information available in the PACS, possessed normal cognitive and communication abilities, and was able to cooperate with telephone follow-ups and on-site examinations;
  • Voluntarily participated in the study, was able to sign a written informed consent form on-site, and agreed to undergo DXA examination.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe spinal deformity, postoperative spinal internal fixation, malignant bone metastasis, or severe osteolytic lesions that may interfere with measurements;
  • A confirmed diagnosis of osteoporosis with ongoing standardized treatment;
  • Inability to be contacted, explicit refusal of follow-up, or inability to visit the hospital for informed consent signing and DXA examination.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
High-risk patients for osteoporosis identified by DeepBMD model
Patients who underwent routine chest or abdominal CT scans and were identified as high risk for osteoporosis by the DeepBMD AI model. These participants will be contacted via telephone, invited to the clinic, and undergo a free DXA scan to verify bone mineral density.
Diagnostic test: DeepBMD model for osteoporosis risk screening
The DeepBMD model is applied to routine chest or abdominal CT scans to identify patients at high risk for osteoporosis. This is a non-invasive image analysis used solely for screening and recruitment purposes, not as a therapeutic intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Diagnostic performance of DeepBMD model for osteoporosis screening
Time Frame: Concurrent with the DXA validation visit following the CT analysis (within 7 days).
The diagnostic performance of the DeepBMD model will be evaluated by comparing its predictions against the gold standard Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Specifically, we will calculate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) for identifying patients with osteoporosis.
Concurrent with the DXA validation visit following the CT analysis (within 7 days).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of the DeepBMD screening and recall workflow
Time Frame: At the end of recruitment
It will be assessed by calculating the proportion of patients identified as high-risk by DeepBMD who successfully complete the telephone follow-up and undergo the confirmatory DXA scan within the scheduled timeframe. We will also record the reasons for refusal or loss to follow-up to evaluate the acceptability of this AI-driven screening pathway.
At the end of recruitment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Fan Yang, PhD, MD, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 28, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 28, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 31, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 1, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • UHCT260668

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data (IPD) will be made available to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal. The shared data will include the demographic information, DeepBMD screening results, and confirmatory DXA T-scores used in the study analyses. Requests should be directed to the corresponding author via email. Data will be available for non-commercial academic research purposes only. Applicants must sign a data access agreement prior to receiving the data.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be available beginning 3 months following article publication and ending 36 months following article publication.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal for specific research questions related to osteoporosis screening or AI diagnostics will be granted access. Approved researchers will have access to the de-identified dataset containing patient demographics, imaging analysis results, and clinical outcomes. Access will be granted via secure email transfer after signing a data use agreement.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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