Mammography of a phantom and breast tissue with synchrotron radiation and a linear-array silicon detector.

A linear-array, silicon pixel detector, capable of counting single photons, was applied to mammography by using a synchrotron radiation beam. Images were obtained of both a mammographic phantom and a breast-tissue sample. The phantom image was acquired with a mean glandular dose of 0.32 mGy. This detector combined with a synchrotron radiation beam allows acquisition of high-contrast, low-dose images of soft tissues.