Mammography System and Method Employing Offset Compression Paddles, Automatic Collimation, and Retractable Anti-scatter Grid
First Claim
1. A mammography system comprising:
- A flat panel digital x-ray receptor having a proximal edge relative to a patient'"'"'s breast to be imaged; and
a compression paddle operably coupled such that the compression paddle moves generally along a length of the proximal edge of the receptor, wherein the compression paddle is configured to be secured in one or more positions along the length of the proximal edge of the receptor, at least one of the one or more positions of the compression paddle is off-center relative to the x-ray receptor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mammographic imaging system is optimized for use with a single fixed size flat panel digital image receptor. It accommodates compression devices (paddles) of varying sizes, and positions them properly in a field of view of the image receptor. When a compression paddle with size smaller than the field of view of the image receptor is used, the compression paddle can be shifted laterally in the direction parallel to the chest wall, so as to facilitate different views of different size breasts, and permit the image receptor to image as much of the desired tissue as possible. An automatic X-ray collimator restricts the X-ray illumination of the breast in accordance with the compression paddle size and location in the field of view. An anti-scatter grid, mounted inside the image receptor enclosure, just below the top cover of the enclosure, can be retracted out of the field of view of the image receptor for use in magnification imaging.
26 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A mammography system comprising:
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A flat panel digital x-ray receptor having a proximal edge relative to a patient'"'"'s breast to be imaged; and a compression paddle operably coupled such that the compression paddle moves generally along a length of the proximal edge of the receptor, wherein the compression paddle is configured to be secured in one or more positions along the length of the proximal edge of the receptor, at least one of the one or more positions of the compression paddle is off-center relative to the x-ray receptor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of imaging a patient'"'"'s breast with a mammography system comprising:
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providing a flat panel digital x-ray receptor having a proximal edge relative to a patient'"'"'s breast to be imaged; securely positioning a compression paddle along a length of the proximal edge of the x-ray receptor, the compression paddle operably coupled such that the compression paddle moves generally along the length of the proximal edge of the receptor, wherein the compression paddle is configured to be secured in one or more positions along the length of the proximal edge of the receptor, at least one of the one or more positions of the compression paddle is off-center relative to the x-ray receptor; compressing the patient'"'"'s breast between the x-ray receptor and the compression paddle; and imaging the patient'"'"'s breast with x-rays from an x-ray source. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification