The XPulse project is part of a regional desire to develop the photonics sector in New Aquitaine. It is led by a consortium of industrialists, academics and regional clinicians and aims to develop an innovative X-ray medical imaging system exploiting high-intensity lasers of medium power, for application in the early detection of breast cancer. Over the period 2018 to 2022, the partners have developed a first prototype of the imaging system that is currently installed in the premises of the Institut de Bio-Imagerie de Bordeaux IBIO. This system operates a low-power microfocus X-source that will be used to validate acquisition sequences and phase contrast imaging technique. From 2023 to 2026, a complementary industrial research program (XPULSE2) will finalize the XPulse prototype and the integration of the X/laser source into the prototype. This prototype will make it possible to carry out the first high-resolution phase contrast imaging tests on representative biological samples. The technologies developed as part of the XPulse project will enable the acquisition of new knowledge in the fields of high-intensity lasers, laser X-ray generation, Hartmann mask phase contrast imaging and its application in mammographic imaging.