Curved Breast Compression Paddle for Uniform Mammography Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing breast compression paddles in mammography and tomosynthesis cause discomfort due to non-uniform compression force distribution, leading to image distortions and patient discomfort, and fail to ensure adequate breast tissue coverage during imaging.
Innovation Solution
The use of a breast compression paddle with a non-planar, curved surface and a flexible material that contours to the breast, combined with a correction map to correct for attenuation differences, ensuring uniform compression and improved image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid planar compression paddle is used, then the breast can be compressed and immobilized for imaging, but the compression force is non-uniform causing patient discomfort and image distortions
Solution Approach 1:
The compression paddle surface is changed from planar to curved/non-planar to match the natural contour of the breast. This curvature allows the paddle to distribute compression force more uniformly across the breast surface, eliminating the non-uniform pressure that causes patient discomfort and image distortions while maintaining effective immobilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The compression paddle incorporates flexible material that can contour to the breast shape, allowing adaptive compression that follows the breast's natural curvature. This flexibility enables uniform force distribution across varying breast thicknesses and contours, resolving the contradiction between effective compression and patient comfort.
2Area of stationary object
If compression force is increased to ensure adequate tissue coverage, then more breast tissue is brought into the imaging field, but patient discomfort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The compression paddle applies different compression forces to different regions of the breast based on local needs. Areas requiring more compression to bring tissue into the imaging field receive higher localized force, while other areas receive appropriate compression without excessive force, thereby maximizing tissue coverage while minimizing overall patient discomfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved surface of the compression paddle enables it to conform to the breast's three-dimensional shape, allowing effective compression of deep tissue near the chest wall while maintaining patient comfort through uniform force distribution across the compressed surface.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a curved compression paddle is used, then uniform compression and patient comfort are improved, but radiation attenuation varies across the paddle surface
Solution Approach 1:
The system compensates for the varying radiation attenuation caused by the curved paddle shape by applying position-dependent correction factors to the imaging parameters. This allows the curved paddle to maintain its comfort advantages while the image processing compensates for the attenuation variations to produce uniform images.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses correction maps that are applied based on the known geometry of the curved compression paddle. These correction maps provide feedback compensation for the attenuation variations, allowing the system to maintain image uniformity while using the comfort benefits of the curved paddle design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides enhanced patient comfort and improved image quality by minimizing sharp edges, ensuring consistent thickness, and correcting for radiation attenuation variations.
Implementation Method 1
A breast compression paddle for use in an imaging system
Implementation Method 2
a breast compression paddle having a non-planar, curved surface
Implementation Method 3
correcting for radiation attenuation variations
Data Source
AI summary
A curved compression element, such as a breast compression paddle, and imaging systems and methods for use with curved compression elements. A system may include a radiation source, a detector, and a curved compression element. Operations are performed that include receiving image data from the detector; accessing a correction map for the at least one compression paddle; correcting the image data based on the correction map to generate a corrected image data; and generating an image of the breast based on the corrected image data. The breast compression element generally has no sharp edges, but rather has smooth edges and transitions between surfaces. The breast compression paddle also includes a flexible material that spans a portion of a curved bottom surface of the breast compression paddle to define a gap. The flexible material may be a thin-film material such as a shrink wrap.