The MARS Photon Processing Cameras for Spectral CT

This thesis is about the development of the MARS camera: a stan- dalone portable digital x-ray camera with spectral sensitivity. It is built for use in the MARS Spectral system from the Medipix2 and Medipix3 imaging chips. Photon counting detectors and Spectral CT are introduced, and Medipix is identified as a powerful new imaging device. The goals and strategy for the MARS camera are discussed. The Medipix chip physical, electronic and functional aspects, and ex- perience gained, are described. The camera hardware, firmware and supporting PC software are presented. Reports of experimental work on the process of equalisation from noise, and of tests of charge sum- ming mode, conclude the main body of the thesis. The camera has been actively used since late 2009 in pre-clinical re- search. A list of publications that derive from the use of the camera and the MARS Spectral scanner demonstrates the practical benefits already obtained from this work. Two of the publications are first- author, eight are co-authored, and a further four acknowledge use of the MARS camera as part of the MARS scanner. The work has been presented at three MARS group meetings, two departmental conferences, and at an internal Medipix3 collaboration meeting hosted by ESRF in Grenoble.