Digital X-ray camera for precision mammographic needle biopsy system
First Claim
1. In a precision mammographic needle biopsy apparatus, including:
- an X-ray source;
a biopsy needle and an actuator for moving the biopsy needle in response to operator input;
a compression plate and a first transparent surface between which the breast is clamped during a biopsy procedure;
means including a CCD array for receiving X-rays emitted by said source which have passed through said breast, the improvement wherein;
said means for receiving X-rays comprises an X-ray camera having a housing which includes said first transparent surface, said camera housing having positioned therein;
a sealed inner housing including a second transparent surface and having situated therein said CCD array, means for converting x-rays which have passed through said second transparent surface into light and guiding said light to said CCD array, and pre-amplification means for pre-amplifying an output of the CCD array; and
an analog circuit board having thereon analog processing means for receiving pre-amplified signals from said pre-amplification means within the sealed inner housing and processing the pre-amplified signals for input to an analog-to-digital converter, the analog-to-digital converter being connected to a bus connector in said camera housing;
a digital circuit board having thereon a clock signal generator for supplying timing signals to the analog processing circuitry and the analog-to-digital converter, and to the CCD array; and
a power and control board having thereon means for conditioning and supplying power to the analog and digital circuit boards and means including a control processor for receiving and distributing control signals supplied by a remote signal processor,wherein said means for guiding said light to said CCD array consists of a plurality of optical fibers having ends which face the second transparent surface and ends adjacent the CCD array, said optical fibers having a scintillation material coated on the ends of the fibers which face said second transparent surface, andwherein said optical fiber are tapered such that a diameter of said fibers is less at the ends of said fibers which are adjacent the CCD array than at said coated ends.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An imaging system for a precision mammographic needle biopsy system includes an x-ray camera whose housing includes a compression panel for the breast, a portion of the compression panel being transparent to X-rays that have passed through the breast so that the surface on which the breast is positioned forms the outside surface of the camera head. Adjacent the interior of the transparent surface, are a scintillator and optics for guiding an image formed when X-rays impinge upon the scintillation material to a CCD board within a hermetically sealed inner camera housing. The optics are in the form of a fiber optic coupler made up of a bundle of coherent optical fibers having scintillation material coated at ends thereof to provide appropriate magnification of the image, thereby eliminating the need for lenses or mirrors, image intensifiers, and the like, and providing improved resolution because of the direct coupling of the scintillation material at the ends of the fibers and the CCD array. The x-ray camera contains within its housing all necessary analog and digital circuitry, including clock signal generating circuitry, power and control circuitry, an analog-to-digital converter, and a digital bus interface, for processing and converting a captured image into a digital image suitable for transmission over a standard digital bus for further processing, the camera thus being compatible, without modification, with a wide variety of controllers and imaging processing equipment.
80 Citations
8 Claims
-
1. In a precision mammographic needle biopsy apparatus, including:
-
an X-ray source; a biopsy needle and an actuator for moving the biopsy needle in response to operator input; a compression plate and a first transparent surface between which the breast is clamped during a biopsy procedure; means including a CCD array for receiving X-rays emitted by said source which have passed through said breast, the improvement wherein; said means for receiving X-rays comprises an X-ray camera having a housing which includes said first transparent surface, said camera housing having positioned therein; a sealed inner housing including a second transparent surface and having situated therein said CCD array, means for converting x-rays which have passed through said second transparent surface into light and guiding said light to said CCD array, and pre-amplification means for pre-amplifying an output of the CCD array; and an analog circuit board having thereon analog processing means for receiving pre-amplified signals from said pre-amplification means within the sealed inner housing and processing the pre-amplified signals for input to an analog-to-digital converter, the analog-to-digital converter being connected to a bus connector in said camera housing; a digital circuit board having thereon a clock signal generator for supplying timing signals to the analog processing circuitry and the analog-to-digital converter, and to the CCD array; and a power and control board having thereon means for conditioning and supplying power to the analog and digital circuit boards and means including a control processor for receiving and distributing control signals supplied by a remote signal processor, wherein said means for guiding said light to said CCD array consists of a plurality of optical fibers having ends which face the second transparent surface and ends adjacent the CCD array, said optical fibers having a scintillation material coated on the ends of the fibers which face said second transparent surface, and wherein said optical fiber are tapered such that a diameter of said fibers is less at the ends of said fibers which are adjacent the CCD array than at said coated ends. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
Specification