Mammography system and method for its operation
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsRazvan Gabriel Iordache, Jose Abellan-Martinez
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mammography system including a compression device, comprising two compression members to compress a breast, a sensor to sense the pressure exerted by the breast on one of the members and/or a device to determine the distance between the two members, an X-ray image acquisition system, means to adjust an initial position of the members. The system further comprises means to monitor variations in pressure and/or variations in thickness relative to their initial value, for an estimation of the risk of breast movement. The system further comprises means to present the user with information signaling breast movement, in relation to the estimation.
Claims9
A mammography system, comprising:
- a compression device comprising at least two compression members to compress a breast arranged therebetween;
- at least one sensor to sense the pressure exerted by the breast on at least one of the compression members, and/or a device to determine the distance between the two compression members, representing the thickness of the breast compressed between the members;
- a system to acquire X-ray images of the breast arranged between the compression members;
- means for adjusting an initial position of the compression members, in which the pressure and/or the thickness has an initial value;
- wherein the means to adjust an initial position comprises:
- means for monitoring variations in pressure and/or variations in thickness relative to their initial value, for an estimation of the risk of breast movement in relation to said variations,
- means for presenting information comprising a user interface and providing the user with information signalling movement of the breast in relation to said estimation.
A method of operating a mammography system having at least one sensor to sense the pressure exerted by a breast on at least one of a plurality of compression members, the method comprising:
- moving the compression members relative to each other to compress the breast arranged therebetween, until an initial pressure value is reached;
- stopping the movement of the compression members when the pressure reaches the initial pressure;
- measuring, after the compression members have been stopped in an initial position, a pressure exerted by the breast on one of the compression members and/or measuring a thickness of the breast compressed between the compression members;
- monitoring variations in pressure and/or variations in thickness relative to their initial value to estimate breast movement in relation to said variations;
- and
- triggering sending of information signalling breast movement, in relation to the estimated risk of movement, to an interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.