Accuracy, Linearity and Precision of Spine QCT vBMD Phantom Measurements for Different Brands of CT Scanner: A Multicentre Study

We describe a multicenter study using the European Spine Phantom (ESP) to compare the accuracy, linearity and precision of QCT measurements of spine vBMD between different brands of scanner, different models of the same brand and identical units of the same model. Ten scans of the same ESP with repositioning were performed on forty CT scanners from five manufacturers in different hospitals across China, all calibrated with the Mindways QCT system. The three ESP vertebral bodies simulating low (L1), medium (L2) and high (L3) vBMD and their average (L1-3 vBMD) were compared with phantom values. Linearity was assessed using the standard error of the estimate derived from linear regression. Precision errors were expressed as the standard deviation of the ten measurements on each scanner. Median (IQR) vBMD over all forty CT scanners compared with phantom values were: L1: 52.2 (49.9−56.4) vs 51.0; L2: 104.4 (101.2−108.6) vs 102.2; L3: 201.4 (195.0−204.9) vs 200.4; L1-3: 119.3 (116.6−123.2) vs 117.9 mg/cm³. Statistically significant differences in L1-3 vBMD were found between different brands (p= 0.005) and between different models of the same brand and identical units of the same model (both p< 0.001). Cross-calibration using linear regression gave a good fit for all forty systems with a median standard error of the estimate of 1.7 mg/cm³. The median precision error for L1-3 vBMD was 0.61 mg/cm³. Statistically significant differences in spine vBMD measurements between different scanners reinforce the importance of cross-calibration in multi-center studies. Cross-calibration can be reliably performed using linear regression equations.