Patient preparation for bone densitometry is important for reducing the radiation dose. Careful checking for the presence of items on patient’s clothing such as jewellery and coins that cause artefacts will optimise the quality of the imaging and avoid the imaging having to be repeated with additional radiation exposure. In paediatric examinations, proper interaction with the children and parents is essential. All actions should be taken to avoid movement of the child during imaging and defer imaging if artefacts (e.g. plaster of Paris on fractures) are present at the imaging site.