Free Scans

Interested in volunteering to receive a free DXA scan at the UCSD School of Bone Densitometry?

As part of our DXA technician training program, we give real, hands-on experience of scanning actual volunteer patients from the local San Diego community.

As a volunteer you will receive gold standard information regarding your body composition and bone health.  This can help to guide weight change plans (losing fat and/or gaining muscle) better than the scale alone, as DXA is the gold standard for assessing accurate body composition.  You will also receive a written report of your results detailing bone health and fracture risk similar to what you would receive going to your physician for osteoporosis screening.

What you’ll get:

Within 7-14 days of your scan you’ll receive a complete report with your scan results. 

These volunteer appointments are on the Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays during our scheduled DXA technician training. The visits take place at the EPARC lab in the Qualcomm Institute on the UCSD Campus in La Jolla. Appointments are about 60-90 minutes (including 20-30 minutes in the scan room with the instructors and trainees) and are scheduled 3-4 weeks in advance.

Since DXA is an x-ray scan, there is a small amount of radiation from these scans. A signed referral from your physician is required to participate. This form can be returned to us via fax at (858) 534-9404 or email at ucsdboneschool@gmail.com. (You can leave the “Scan Date” blank or write “TBD”)

Click Here for our “MD Clearance” Referral Form 

Are you eligible for a volunteer scan?

You must be willing and able to complete all four scans: whole body, single hip, lumbar spine, and forearm.

You CANNOT be scanned for the following reasons:

1.  You weigh more than 350 pounds
2.  You cannot lie still for 6-8 minutes (eg. No tremors)
3.  You have had partial or full hip replacement in BOTH hips (hip replacement in one hip is okay)
4.  You have had 3 or more fractures in L1-L4 or have surgical implants or corrections that affect more than 2 vertebrae between L1-L4.
5.  You have had medical imaging requiring dye in the 2 weeks prior to your scan appointment
6.  There is any chance you may be pregnant at the time of your scan appointment

How to sign up:

Interested individuals can email ucsdboneschool@gmail.com or call 858-822-7624 for more information and to be added to our volunteer waitlist. Please make sure to mention the full name, phone number, and email address of each person who is interested in scheduling an appointment. Due to very limited availability and tremendous interest in our program, it is very likely that you may not be contacted to be scheduled for a few months, but you’ll stay on our interest list until an appointment becomes available and we will contact you directly.

Interested in volunteering for research studies at EPARC?

The Exercise and Physical Activity Resource Center (EPARC) at UC San Diego is at the cutting edge of health science technology, and home to our School of Bone Densitometry.  However, we don’t only do research on bone health; we conduct LOTS of research into health, exercise capacity, exercise efficiency, and technology in health.   If you are interested in seeing what other studies are being conducted, and/or volunteering for research studies at EPARC, visit eparc.ucsd.edu, call (858) 534-9315, or email eparc@ucsd.edu for more information.