Full breast digital mammography device
US5712890A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 26, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jan 27, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 26, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B6/5241
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention provides a digital x-ray mammography device capable of imaging a full breast. A movable aperture coupled with a movable x-ray image detector permits x-ray image data to be obtained with respect to partially overlapping x-ray beam paths from an x-ray source passing through a human breast. A digital computer programmed with a stitching algorithm produces a composite image of the breast from the image data obtained with respect to each path. In a preferred embodiment, a Schmidt camera images visible light produced at an x-ray to visible light conversion surface onto a digital detector array to produce an overlapping image pane with respect to each overlapping beam path.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.