Phase-contrast x-ray imaging of the breast: recent developments towards clinics

Breast imaging is one of the most demanding and delicate radiological applications. Mammography is the primary diagnosis tool in breast cancer detection and national screening programmes. Recognition of breast cancer depends on the detection of subtle architectural distortion, masses showing near normal breast tissue density, skin thickening and microcalcifications. The small differences in attenuation of x-rays between normal and malignant tissue result in low contrast and make cancer detection difficult in conventional x-ray absorption mammography. Because of these challenging aspects, breast imaging has been the first and most explored diagnostic field in phase-contrast imaging research. This novel imaging method has been extensively used and has demonstrated a unique capability in producing high-contrast and sensitive images at quasi-histological resolution. The most recent and significant technical developments are introduced and results obtained by the application of various phase-contrast imaging techniques for breast imaging are reported. The first phase-contrast mammography clinical trials project is also presented and the short- and long-term future perspectives of the method are discussed.