Evolution of tomosynthesis.

PURPOSE: Tomosynthesis is a limited-angle multi-projection method that was conceived to address a significant limitation of conventional single-projection x-ray imaging: the overlap of structures in an image. We trace the historical evolution of tomosynthesis.

APPROACH: Relevant papers are discussed including descriptions of technical advances and clinical applications.

RESULTS

We start with the invention of tomosynthesis by Ziedses des Plantes in the Netherlands and Kaufman in the United States in the mid-1930s and end with our predictions of future technical advances. Some of the other topics that are covered include a respiratory-gated chest tomosynthesis system of the late 1930s, film-based systems of the 1960s and 1970s, coded aperture tomosynthesis, fluoroscopy tomosynthesis, digital detector-based tomosynthesis for imaging the breast and body, orthopedic, dental and radiotherapy applications, optimization of acquisition parameters for breast and body tomosynthesis, reconstruction methods, characteristics of present-day tomosynthesis systems, x-ray tubes, and promising new applications including contrast-enhanced and multimodal breast imaging systems.

CONCLUSION

Tomosynthesis has had an exciting history that continues today. This should serve as a foundation for other papers in the special issue "Celebrating Digital Tomosynthesis: Past, Present and Future" in the Journal of Medical Imaging.