Patent ID: 8804903

Claim:
A mammography apparatus comprising: a bed unit having a bed unit surface configured to receive a ventrally positioned female patient thereon, said bed unit surface having a recess therein at a location allowing a breast of the ventrally positioned patient to proceed through said recess; an x-ray unit comprising an x-ray source and a radiation detector, said x-ray unit being located beneath said bed unit surface of said bed unit; said bed unit being subdivided into a plurality of bed parts, including at least a first bed part and second bed part, that are selectively moveable with respect to each other to form said bed unit into a configuration, dependent on individual anatomy and size of the female patient, that allows positioning of said x-ray source and said radiation detector beneath said bed unit surface to cause an entirety of the breast proceeding through the recess to be irradiated by x-rays from said x-ray source and imaged in an x-ray image detected by said radiation detector; and at least one of said bed parts being moveable to produce a depression in an underside of said bed unit, opposite to said bed unit surface, configured to permit said x-ray source to be received in said depression to cause said x-ray source to irradiate a base of the breast in the recess and to permit said radiation detector to detect x-rays irradiated by the x-ray source and attenuated by the base of the breast proceeding through the recess, while said radiation detector remains stationary.