Apparatus and method for supporting and positioning the body to facilitate radiographic mammography procedures

The combination with radiation apparatus including a radiation source for presentation to body tissue to be examined, and means responsive to radiations from said radiation source to provide a visual image of said tissue, of a shiftable cradle for manipulatively supporting a female subject in a prone position to facilitate the gravitational suspension of the subject's breast in diverse selectible depending angles relative to the body of the subject,

• said cradle comprising an elongated frame including a pair of opposed, coextensive, generally parallel bar means, and strut means retaining said bar means apart and fixed relative to each other to maintain a spacial span therebetween,
• body-support sling means bridging said parallel bar means and secured thereto along the opposed lengths thereof,
• said sling means being formed with an open areal section extending at least partially transversely thereacross at a position intermediate forward and rearward extremities of said frame,
• said open areal section being adapted to receive therethrough a gravitationally suspended breast depending from the body of a subject supported on said sling means to present the breast into a zone below said cradle and accessible to a radiated beam eminating from the radiation source and directed toward the breast,
• frame tilting means operatively connected to said frame for arcuately adjustably pivoting said frame to vary the spacial orientation thereof,
• said tilting means including means for arcuately pivoting said frame about each of two different axes,
• said tilting means thereby rendering feasible the suspension of the breast in the zone below said cradle at diverse selectible angles relative to the body of the subject,
• whereby fidelity and diagnostic value of film images produced in radiographic mammography procedures carried out on the breast of the subject are enhanced.