Controller for imaging apparatus

A multi-mode mammography/tomosynthesis system comprising:

• a floor-mounted, upright gantry having at least a patient facing front surface and an opposite rear surface;
• a collar extending from the front surface and defining a rotation axis;
• a tube arm assembly rotatably coupled to the gantry at the collar;
• a compression arm assembly rotatably coupled to the gantry at the collar;
• and
• at least one controller configured to at least partially control one or more operations of the system, the at least one controller disposed on the gantry on the rear surface, wherein the at least one controller has a front face with two opposing sides, a first side of the two opposing sides being substantially flush with the rear surface of the gantry and a second side of the two opposing sides having a length, such that the front face is angled and at a fixed position relative to the rear surface of the gantry, and wherein the front face is out of view of a patient positioned at the front surface of the gantry.

An apparatus comprising:

• an upright gantry having an outer housing and a substantially vertical gantry longitudinal axis;
• a tube arm assembly rotatably coupled to the upright gantry about a rotation axis;
• a compression arm assembly rotatably coupled to the upright gantry, wherein the tube arm assembly is at least partially independently rotatable around the rotation axis relative to the compression arm assembly;
• and
• a controller having a front face disposed at a fixed angle to the outer housing and operably connected to at least one of the tube arm assembly and the compression arm assembly, the front face faces away from a patient station, wherein the controller comprises a substantially vertical controller longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the gantry longitudinal axis, a first side, and a second side, and wherein at least one of the first side and the second side is at least partially flush with the outer housing of the gantry.