WHOLE-BODY PHANTOMS WITH ANTHROPOMORPHIC-SHAPED SKELETONS FOR EVALUATION OF DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY MEASUREMENTS

We have developed a set of four whole-body phantoms with anthropometri c-shaped skeletons constructed of CaHPO4-doped expoxy resin, to simula te average body sizes of children at ages 4, 10, 15, and 18. Each phan tom was measured on a Hologic QDR-2000 instrument with and without a s et of polyethylene overlays to simulate excess body fat, and with and without a 0.6% NaCl/water mixture to simulate differences in lean tiss ue composition. Precision of total body BMC, based on 4 scans over 2 w k, were 0.5%-1.8%, and were correlated (r(2) = 0.999, p < 0.001) with the chemical Ca-content of the simulated skeleton. The addition of ove rlays to the phantoms to simulate increased body size,and/or body fat resulted in small but significant increases in the measured values for BMC and bone area, but not that of BMD. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd . All rights reserved.