Free online WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool now available as version 3.3

The WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX-) is an important new calculation tool, available free online at http://www.shef.ac.uk/FRAX, that is being used by a steadily increasing number of physicians around the world to calculate a patient's 10-year probability of fracture based on scientifically validated risk factors. The tool is country specific and can be used with or without the input of Bone Mineral Density (BMD) values.

Launched on June 1st, version 3.3 of the tool now includes models for the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Tunisia, with two additional languages (Czech and Korean). An updated FAQ section provides considerable background and support information and the addition of a counter for each model (plus total usage) as of June 1, 2011, will help give an overview of how widely and frequently the tool is being used around the world.

The tool is now available for countries/territories in the following regions:

• Asia - China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore (3 models), Philippines, South Korea
• Europe - Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK
• Middle East and Africa - Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia
• North America - Canada, US (4 models)
• Latin America - Argentina, Colombia, Mexico
• Oceania - Australia, New Zealand

Users may select their language of choice when utilizing the tool. Version 3.3 is available in the following 16 languages: English, Arabic, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Czech, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish. In addition, an additional DXA scanning model (DMS/Medilink) has been added to the calculator.

One of the founders of FRAX-, Dr Eugene McCloskey, Professor in Adult Bone Disease and Honorary Consultant at the Metabolic Bone Centre, University of Sheffield UK, said, "Previously, doctors tended to rely primarily on BMD values in making treatment decisions. FRAX- represents a real advance in that it helps clinicians make more informed treatment decisions based on multiple scientifically validated risk factors. The tool is continually being updated and improved. We are pleased that with version 3.3, patients in four additional countries are now able to benefit from improved fracture risk assessment."