This thesis offers an accessible guide to biomedical phase-contrast imaging with over 20 radiographic illustrations. It focuses on research to improve radiography, and particularly mammography applications, by using a novel X-ray imaging modality that exploits the wave-nature of X-rays, rather than just their absorption in tissue. Further, it explores a broad range of potential applications from the assessment of breast cancer and the evaluation of microcalcification clusters, to the examination of renal stones.

X-ray imaging is an indispensable tool in modern medical...