DIGITAL X-RAY CAMERA FOR PRECISION MAMMOGRAPHIC NEEDLE BIOPSY SYSTEM

摘要

An imaging system for a precision mammographic needle biopsy system includes an x-ray camera whose housing includes a compression panel (24) for the breast, a portion of the compression panel being transparent to x-rays that have passed through the breast so that the surface on which the breast is positioned forms the outside surface of the camera head. Adjacent the interior of the transparent surface, are a scintillator and optics (38) for guiding an image formed when x-rays impinged upon the scintillation material to a CCD board (32) within the sealed camera housing. The x-ray camera contains within its housing all necessary analog and digital circuitry (47)-(49) for processing the image captured by the CCD array (32) and converting the image into a digital image. Included within the camera housing is a hermetically sealed inner housing (34) with cooling provisions for the CCD array (32).