A simple ultrasound of a woman's heel may be able to predict if she is at an increased risk of osteoporosis, suggests new research.

The non-invasive, non-radiation procedure could show a risk of fractures and indicate the need for further testing of at-risk women, such as a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan that examines bone density of the hip and spine.

A bone mineral density score on a DEXA scan that is 2.5 standard deviations or more below the average value of young healthy women means a woman has osteoporosis.

The ultrasound technique could help diagnose a condition that is not optimally treated, say researchers.

"Heel [quantitative ultrasound] in conjunction with clinical risk factors can be used to identify a population at a very low fracture probability in which no further diagnostic evaluation may be necessary," Dr. Idris Guessous, senior research fellow in the department of internal medicine at Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, said in a release.

The other factors that played a part in predicting the onset of osteoporosis were advancing age, a history of fracture, a failed chair test (in which a person needs to use their arms to lift themselves up from a seated position), a recent fall and heel stiffness.

Researchers screened the bone stiffness of 6,174 women between the ages of 70 and 85 who had no history of osteoporosis with heel-bone quantitative ultrasound.

The scans found that 1,464 women or 23.7 per cent of those scanned were at low risk of developing the disease, while 4,710 or 76.3 per cent were at higher risk.

Questionnaires were a key component of the study, which were mailed to participants every six months for up to 32 months. They asked questions about changes in the women's health, medications and new fractures.

Two hundred and ninety of the women who were deemed high risk though the ultrasound procedure developed fractures, compared to only 27 in the low-risk group.

The study is published in the July issue of Radiology.