Lesson Bone Density Challenge Introduction

Learning Objectives

After this lesson, students should be able to:

• Explain the importance and uses of bone mineral density.
• Explain how x-rays work.
• Explain how logarithms connect to bone mineral density tests.

Educational Standards

Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards.

All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN), a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org).

In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g., by state; within source by type; e.g., science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc.

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

State Standards

Worksheets and Attachments

Introduction/Motivation

Your engineering challenge question: You work for a company that manufactures cabinet x-ray systems used in imaging small specimens. You want to sell more systems, so you need to find a way to make your current system more marketable by showing that your system is capable of performing multiple functions. One function you want to investigate is if your current system is capable of producing bone mineral density (BMD) images. If it is, you believe that you can increase your sales dramatically. You hire a team of biomedical engineers to research your product's applications to BMD. After many hours of research, the team has presented the following image to you. Is this an acceptable image? How do you know?

Lesson Background and Concepts for Teachers

Introduce the challenge question and hand out the worksheet to help students in generating ideas. The worksheet lists the following questions for guidance:

1. What are your initial ideas about how these questions can be answered?
2. What background is needed?
3. What do you know about x-rays already?
4. What do you know about bone mineral density already?

In the class setting, have students share ideas from their journals. Record their ideas on the classroom board. Work with the class to set up main categories of necessary knowledge. If possible, organize the topics into the following three categories: focus on bone density, imaging, the mathematics involved in calculating a BMD image.

Then move on to the associated activity, Exploring Bone Mineral Density, X-Rays and Biomedical Imaging to have students explore some websites about bone mineral density.

The teacher should be familiar with how a BMD image is created using a small-specimen x-ray system. Refer to the following websites for a brief overview to prepare for this lesson and the associated activity.

http://www.bmj.com/content/325/7362/484.full

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=dexa&bhcp=1

Associated Activities

• Exploring Bone Mineral Density, X-Rays and Biomedical Imaging - Students gain knowledge of bone mineral density and x-rays in general by navigating through and researching at two websites.

Assessment

Grade students on their written journal brainstorming and class participation in the class brainstorming.

Copyright

Contributors

Supporting Program

Acknowledgements

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under National Science Foundation RET grant nos. 0338092 and 0742871. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the NSF, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.