Father and son develop world-first scanner using CERN tech

A father and son from New Zealand have developed a new type of 3D scanner using the same technology that detected the Higgs Boson particle at CERN.

The MARS spectral x-ray scanner is the brainchild of Prof Phil Butler, a physicist working at the University of Canterbury, and his son Anthony, a radiologist and Professor at both the Universities of Otago and Canterbury. It uses Medipix3 detector technology developed at CERN to measure the individual energy of each x-ray photon. This enables the scanner to create incredibly detailed 3D images of its subject. According to the Butlers, the device could herald a revolution in medical diagnostics.

"X-ray spectral information allows health professionals to measure the different components of body parts such as fat, water, calcium, and disease markers, “ said Prof Anthony Butler. “Traditional black-and-white x-rays only allow measurement of the density and shape of an object.