Patent ID: 7308295

Claim:
A mammography apparatus comprising: a bracket ( 1 , 5 , 6 ) having first and second spaced bracket arms; an X-ray tube head ( 12 ) fitted to said first bracket arm ( 1 ) and comprising an X-ray tube ( 3 ) for producing X-radiation and a collimator ( 4 ) for collimating the X-radiation produced by the X-ray tube; compression means ( 7 ) for positioning a breast in the path of the collimated X-radiation of the X-ray tube head and for compressing the breast for imaging; a biopsy device ( 20 ), integrable with said mammography apparatus proximate to said compression means, said biopsy device having a biopsy needle ( 21 ) for carrying out a biopsy in a localized volume space of biopsy within the breast; an image forming component ( 23 ) fitted to said second bracket arm ( 6 ) to receive the X-radiation of said X-ray tube head passing through the breast, said image forming component comprising a digital full field detector ( 11 ) of a size that is sufficiently large to present a single image of the entire breast; means for employing a small section of said full field detector as a detector element when the localized volume space of biopsy is imaged with collimated radiation from said X-ray tube head, said image forming component of said apparatus thus serving as an X-radiation detector for both full scale breast imaging and localized biopsy volume space imaging; and a needle guiding unit ( 22 ) for guiding movement of the biopsy needle ( 21 ) in said localized volume space of biopsy on the basis of three-dimensional information compiled in the imaging of the localized volume space of biopsy.