Patent ID: 8831171
Filing Date: 2014-09-09
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method of selectively operating an x-ray breast imaging system comprising: providing an x-ray tube having a focal spot, an x-ray imaging receptor and a breast immobilizer between the tube and the receptor, said breast immobilizer comprising a breast platform and a compression paddle; immobilizing a patient's breast in said breast immobilizer between said breast platform and said paddle; moving the x-ray tube focal spot along a tomosynthesis trajectory relative to the breast immobilizer; selectively energizing the x-ray tube to emit an imaging x-ray beam from each of a multiplicity of different tomosynthesis imaging positions of said focal spot along said tomosynthesis trajectory; said beam passing through each of the compression paddle, the patient's breast and the breast platform before impinging on the imaging receptor; and obtaining from said imaging receptor a multiplicity of tomosynthesis projection images Tp of the patient's breast related to said multiplicity of tomosynthesis imaging positions, each image Tp being related to a respective different angle of said imaging x-ray beam relative to the breast immobilizer; and obtaining a mammogram of the breast as immobilized in said breast immobilizer between said breast platform and said paddle.