Mammography apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12458310-B2
Application number	US-202318454758-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 23, 2023
Priority date	Aug 30, 2022
Publication date	Nov 4, 2025
Grant date	Nov 4, 2025

Abstract

A mammography apparatus includes an imaging table; a radiation source; a stand; the compression plate including a bottom plate that compresses the breast and side plates provided on at least two locations of a subject side and a stand side of the bottom plate; and a projector that projects an image toward the compression plate and the imaging table, in which in a case where an intersection between an imaginary plane formed by extending the inner wall surface toward the projector and an imaginary horizontal line crossing the projector in a horizontal direction is defined as an imaginary intersection, an optical element closest to the compression plate on an optical path directed from the projector to the compression plate is located on the subject side with respect to the imaginary intersection.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A mammography apparatus comprising:
an imaging table on which a breast of a subject is placed; a radiation source that emits radiation toward the breast; a stand that directly or indirectly supports the radiation source and the imaging table; a compression plate that is disposed to be movable between the imaging table and the radiation source and is directly or indirectly supported by the stand, the compression plate including a bottom plate that compresses the breast and side plates provided on at least two locations of a subject side and a stand side of the bottom plate; and a projector that is disposed on the stand side with respect to the radiation source, that projects an image toward the compression plate and the imaging table through a plurality of optical elements, and that is accommodated in a radiation source accommodation portion that accommodates the radiation source, wherein in a case where a surface on the subject side in the side plate on the stand side is defined as an inner wall surface of the side plate, and an intersection between an imaginary plane formed by extending the inner wall surface toward the projector and an imaginary horizontal line crossing the projector in a horizontal direction is defined as an imaginary intersection, among the plurality of optical elements, an optical element closest to the compression plate on an optical path of light emitted from the projector and directed to the compression plate is disposed on the subject side with respect to the imaginary intersection.

2 . The mammography apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the inner wall surface is parallel to a movement direction of the compression plate, and
a light beam located closest to the stand side in an effective luminous flux emitted from the projector is parallel to the movement direction.

3 . The mammography apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein on a surface of the bottom plate onto which the image is projected, a position where the inner wall surface rises coincides with a projection position of the light beam located closest to the stand side in the effective luminous flux.

4 . The mammography apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein in a case where the compression plate is located closest to the projector, on a surface of the bottom plate onto which the image is projected, a projectable range of the image is located on the subject side with respect to the inner wall surface.

5 . The mammography apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the inner wall surface is parallel to a normal direction of a surface of the bottom plate onto which the image is projected.

6 . The mammography apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an upper end of the inner wall surface is inclined toward the stand side with respect to a normal direction of a surface of the bottom plate onto which the image is projected.

7 . The mammography apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image includes information indicating an imaging condition for imaging the breast, and
in the compression plate, a region onto which the information is projected is subjected to light transmission suppression processing for suppressing transmission of light.

Assignees

• Fujifilm Corp

Inventors

• Gemma Kohei
• Kobayashi Takeyasu
• Saito Sayaka

Classifications

• G06T2207/30068

  Mammography; Breast · CPC title

• G06T7/00

  Image analysis · CPC title

• A61B6/0414

  with compression means · CPC title

• A61B6/502 Primary

  for diagnosis of breast, i.e. mammography · CPC title