Abstract: Background and purpose: Diffraction-enhanced imaging (DEI) is a recently developed imaging technique, which is approximately 1 000 times more sensitive than conventional absorption contrast imaging when imaging the soft tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of the synchrotron radiation DEI in human breast cancer. Methods: Fifteen excised human breast specimens were studied. Monochromatic synchrotron radiation DEI was obtained at the beamline 4W1A of the Beijing synchrotron radiation facility in China with the energy of 15keV. Finally, the pathology results were confirmed. Results: Good DEI of the 15 samples were all obtained. The imaging clearly showed the lesions and the normal tissue. The images obtained with DEI had higher contrast and better resolution. Conclusion: Synchrotron radiation diffraction enhanced imaging can detect the characteristics and spatial distribution of human breast cancer, and its use of refraction imaging mechanism can effectively reduce the radiation damage of X-ray on the human body. It would be a great potential diagnostic tool in clinical application in the future.

Key words: Synchrotron radiation, Phase-contrast imaging, Diffraction enhanced-imaging, X-ray, Breast cancer