Mammography system and method employing offset compression paddles, automatic collimation, and retractable anti-scatter grid

A method of imaging a patient's breast with x-rays comprising:

• providing a flat panel digital x-ray image receptor having a proximal edge, and an x ray source selectively emitting a collimated x-ray beam received by the image receptor, said x-ray source and image receptor being supported for rotation moving said collimated beam between vertical and non-vertical orientations;
• positioning a patient's breast between the x-ray source and the image receptor, for imaging with said collimated x-ray beam;
• compressing the breast toward the image receptor with a compression paddle;
• imaging the breast with the collimated x-ray beam emitted from the x-ray source and received by the image receptor while the breast is compressed with said paddle;
• and
• providing a control unit selectively causing imaging of the compressed patient's breast in a first mode in which an anti-scatter grid is in a first position in which the grid is in the path of the collimated x-ray beam received by the image receptor or in a second mode in which the anti-scatter grid is out of the path of the collimated x-ray beam received by the image receptor.

A system for imaging a patient's breast with a collimated beam of x-rays impinging on image receptor after passing through the patient's breast, comprising:

• an anti-scatter grid having a first position in which the grid is supported by the system to conform to a plane that is between the patient's breast and the image receptor;
• said anti-scatter grid, when in said first position, being in the path of the collimated x-ray beam received by the image receptor;
• said anti-scatter grid being mounted for selective withdrawal from said first position to thereby be out of the path of the collimated x-ray beam received by the image receptor;
• and
• a control selectively placing said system in a first breast x-ray imaging mode in which the anti-scatter grid is in said first position or a second breast x-ray imaging mode in which said anti-scatter grid is withdrawn from said first imaging position and is out of the path of the collimated x-ray beam received by the image receptor.

A method of imaging a patient's breast with an imaging system using a collimated beams of x-rays impinging on an image receptor after passing through the patient's breast, comprising:

• controlling the system to selectively operate in a first breast imaging mode or in a second breast imaging mode;
• automatically responding to operation of the system in the first breast imaging to command supporting an anti-scatter grid within the system in a first position in which the grid is between the patient's breast and the image receptor;
• wherein when in said first position the anti-scatter grid is in the path of the collimated x-ray beam received by the image receptor;
• and
• automatically responding to operation of the system in the second breast imaging mode to command withdrawing of the anti-scatter grid from the path of the collimated x-ray beam received by the image receptor.