Bones are the support of the body. They are composed of many inorganic compounds and other organic materials that all together can be used to determine the mineral density of the bones. The bone mineral density is a measure index that is widely used as an indicator of the health of the bone. A typical manner to evaluate the quality of the bone is a densitometry study; a dual x-ray absorptiometry system based study that has been widely used to assess the mineral density of some animals' bones. However, despite the success stories of utilizing these systems in many different applications, it is a very expensive method that requires frequent calibration processes to work properly. Moreover, its usage in small species applications (e.g., rodents) has not been quite demonstrated yet. Following this argument, it is suggested that there is a need for an instrument that would perform such a task in a more reliable and economical manner. Therefore, in this paper we explore the possibility to develop a new, affordable, and reliable single x-ray absorptiometry system. The method consists of utilizing a single x-ray source, an x-ray image sensor, and a computer platform that all together, as a whole, will allow us to calculate the mineral density of the bone. Utilizing an x-ray transmission theory modified through a version of the Lambert-Beer law equation, a law that expresses the relationship among the energy absorbed, the thickness, and the absorption coefficient of the sample at the x-rays wavelength to calculate the mineral density of the bone can be advantageous. Having determined the parameter equation that defines the ratio of the pixels in radiographies and the bone mineral density [measured in mass per unit of area (g/cm(2))], we demonstrated the utility of our novel methodology by calculating the mineral density of Wistar rats' femur bones.

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Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and bone weakening, which increase the risk of fracture. This disease is associated with menopause because hypoestrogenism induces the maturation and activation of osteoclasts. In addition, a low dietary intake of calcium leads to low bone mineral density and postmenopausal osteoporosis. The objectives of this work were to determine calcium bioavailability of Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes at a late maturity stage and to assess its contribution in improving bone health in an ovariectomized rat model. Two-month-old Wistar female rats (n = 35) were used and distributed in seven experimental groups: (i) control group (Crtl), (ii) sham group (SH), (iii) ovariectomized group (OVX), (iv) ovariectomized group supplemented with calcium citrate (CCa), (v) ovariectomized group supplemented with O. ficus-indica powder (NI), (vi) ovariectomized group supplemented with soluble fiber from O. ficus-indica (FS) and (vii) ovariectomized group supplemented with insoluble fiber from O. ficus-indica (FI). Our results showed that calcium in the soluble fiber of O. ficus-indica is bioavailable and contributes to improve the physical, densitometric, biomechanical and microstructural properties of bones in ovariectomized rats. These findings indicated that O. ficus-indica cladodes at a late maturity stage represent a good source of bioavailable calcium and consumption of these cladodes might be beneficial for the prevention of osteoporosis and other bone diseases.