Abstract: In an embodiment of the invention, a method of measuring bone density is provided comprising: irradiating a volume to be analyzed; for x-rays emerging from the irradiated volume, detecting at least two of transmitted x-rays, forward scattered x-rays and backward scattered x-rays; and analyzing at least two of the transmitted x-rays, the forward scattered x-rays, or the backward scattered x-rays to determine a density by determining at least one of a ratio of the forward scattered x-rays to the backward scattered x-rays, a ratio of the forward scattered x-rays to the transmitted x-rays, or the product of the ratio of the forward scattered x-rays to the backward scattered x-rays and the ratio of the forward scattered x-rays to the transmitted x-rays.