Patent ID: 7634049

Claim:
A method comprising: (a) securing a first compression device comprising an x-ray transparent inflatable chamber over a tube-side surface of a first breast of a patient positioned on an imaging area of a bucky on a mammography unit; (b) at least partially filling the inflatable chamber of the first compression device with a fluid, thereby compressing the breast between the inflatable chamber and the imaging area and at least partially occluding blood flow to the breast; (c) transmitting x-rays through the breast; (d) releasing at least a portion of the fluid from the inflatable chamber, wherein the release of the fluid from the chamber controls the resumption of blood flow to the breast; (e) detecting sounds generated by the resumption of blood flow to the breast; and, (f) repeating each of said steps (a)-(e) with respect to said patient's contralateral breast.