Protocol for the measurement of the European spine phantom

In order to allow comparison of bone mineral density, across the centres involved in this study, the different types of densitometers need to be cross-calibrated using an independent phantom. The European Spine Phantom (ESP) has been developed for this purpose and its use validated in a number of studies (Kalender and Felsenberg 1991, Kalender 1992, Genant et al 1994, Genant 1995). The ESP contains 3 'vertebrae' of different areal densities ranging from low (approximately 500 mg/cm2) through medium (approximately 1000 mg/cm2) to high (approximately 1500 mg/cm2)