Potential advantages of using a portable peripheral densitometer: The texture analyses described above were developed for high-resolution radiographs, which were digitized and subjected to computer analysis. The new DXA imaging systems such as GE/Lunar PIXI which will be used in our research, provide digital images with resolution sufficient for computerized texture analysis (200 micron pixels). Furthermore, PIXI can generate the image in a shorter time (seconds vs. minutes) and at a fraction of radiation dose of conventional radiographs. Finally, since this is a portable densitometer, the methodology developed in this proposal has the potential to be widely applicable to large segments of the population, including frail elderly who have limited mobility and high prevalence of osteoporosis.