Patent ID: 7639779
Filing Date: 2009-12-29
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for capturing a radiation image by applying a radiation emitted from a radiation source to a breast and detecting the radiation that has passed through the breast with a radiation detector, comprising: a dose detecting sensor for detecting a dose of said radiation that has passed through the breast; a thickness measuring unit for measuring a thickness of the breast along a direction in which the radiation passes through the breast, when the breast is pressed against said radiation detector by a presser plate; a pre-exposure-mode-required irradiation dose calculator for calculating a pre-exposure-mode-required irradiation dose required to apply said radiation to the breast in a pre-exposure mode prior to a main exposure mode for capturing said radiation image, using the measured thickness of the breast as a parameter; a main-exposure-mode-required irradiation dose calculator for calculating a main-exposure-mode-required irradiation dose required to apply said radiation to the breast in the main exposure mode, based on a pre-exposure-mode irradiation dose which represents the dose of said radiation detected by said dose detecting sensor in said pre-exposure mode; and a radiation source controller for controlling said radiation source to apply said radiation to the breast in said pre-exposure mode according to the calculated pre-exposure-mode-required irradiation dose and controlling said radiation source to apply said radiation to the breast in said main exposure mode according to the calculated main-exposure-mode-required irradiation dose.