Smart Mammography Image Acquisition System and Method

A method for determining the need for generation of enhanced diagnostic images of a patient, the method comprising the steps of:

• a. providing an imaging system comprising:
• i. a radiation source operable at to emit radiation at multiple energy levels, a detector alignable with the radiation source, the detector having a surface on which an object to be imaged is adapted to be positioned;
• and
• ii. a controller operably connected to the radiation source and the detector to control the operation of the radiation source and detector to generate image data in an imaging procedure performed by the imaging system, the controller including a central processing unit and interconnected database for processing the image data from the detector to create images, a display operably connected to the controller for presenting information to a user, and a user interface operably connected to the controller to enable user input to the controller;
• b. positioning the object on the surface between the radiation source and the detector;
• c. acquiring one or more low energy (LE) images of the object;
• d. analyzing the one or more LE images to locate one or more triggering attributes, characteristics or findings within the object;
• e. optionally acquiring one or more additional images of the object, the one or more additional images acquired with radiation having an energy level different than employed for acquiring the one or more LE images if one or more triggering attributes, characteristics or findings are located in the object;
• and
• f. optionally processing the one or more LE images and the one or more additional images to form one or more enhanced images.