Three dimensional breast imaging

A method comprising:

• placing a patient's breast in a bore opening of a vertically-oriented gantry, wherein the gantry includes an X-ray radiation source and an X-ray radiation detector that are located at substantially opposing positions of the gantry;
• immobilizing the patient's breast within the bore opening while the patient is in a seated or standing position;
• capturing an image of the patient's breast;
• and
• releasing the patient's breast from the bore opening.

A method of performing mammography comprising:

• providing an apparatus that comprises a radiation source having a distal end and a proximal end approximately opposite the distal end, wherein the radiation source comprises an anode operatively connected to a proximally extending shaft that does not substantially extend distally from the anode, and a cathode, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a radiation receiver located substantially opposite the radiation source such that at least a portion of radiation from the source passes through a patient's breast that is located between the source and receiver, wherein the radiation source and radiation receiver are attached to the gantry;
• positioning the distal end of the radiation source near the patient's chest;
• and
• rotating the gantry around the patient's breast while the source emits radiation that impinges on the receiver.