Patent ID: 7697660

Claim:
A device for producing an image of a breast of a patient, the device comprising: a gantry frame; at least one motor for moving the gantry frame to form a data acquisition geometry in which image data are taken; a source of a beam of radiation attached to the gantry frame to move with the gantry frame; a two-dimensional (2D) digital detector attached to the gantry frame to move with the gantry frame, the 2D digital detector being disposed in a path of the beam of radiation; at least one computer system for controlling a volume scan of the breast, performing reconstruction of the image of the breast and performing image analysis on the image; and a table on which the patient rests while the image data are taken, the table supporting the patient such that the breast is disposed between the source of cone-beam radiation and the 2D digital detector, the table having a hole through which the breast extends and being configured such that an entirety of the breast extending through the hole is in the path of the beam of radiation; wherein the at least one motor moves the gantry frame so that the 2D digital detector takes the volume scan of the breast; and wherein the volume scan of the breast acquires a set of 2D cone beam projection images or multiple sets of 2D cone beam projection images for cone beam tomographic reconstruction, and wherein a three-dimensional cone beam volume CT image is formed from the image signals by performing a cone beam volume CT reconstruction on the cone beam projection images to produce a three-dimensional attenuation coefficient distribution of the breast.