How does MARS work?

This technology uses a solid state photon-counting energy-resolving detector layer bonded to the Medipix3RX ASIC chip. The Medipix3RX chip was developed by the Medipix Collaboration, which includes CERN in Geneva and 18 research institutes around the world. It is both energy-resolving and photon-counting which enables true quantitative material decomposition.

The sensor simultaneously places each photon into one of eight energy bins based on the x-ray photons energy or wavelength (five energy bins are used for image reconstruction). There is no need for multiple x-ray beams, x-ray tubes, or detectors. In addition, since every photon is processed, image quality is improved at a lower cost of radiation dose compared to conventional CT. The Medipix3RX detects and processes the interactions occurring between each photon and the different atoms within the body. Information about the density and material composition is captured.