Characterization of a new ultrasound device designed for measuring cortical porosity at the human tibia: A phantom study

•A new ultrasound device for the estimation of cortical bone porosity is presented.•Axial transmission velocities in different directions are measured.•The velocities measured reflect bone anisotropy which correlates with porosity.•The method was validated on cylindrical phantoms and phantoms with aligned pores.•Errors caused by phantom surface curvature could be compensated.