Abstract: The present invention provides a detector cell having an x-ray absorption component and a thermal sensing component configured to detect thermal differentials in the absorption component resulting from the absorption of x-rays. The absorption component comprises high density materials that respond thermally to the reception of x-rays or other HF electromagnetic energy. The thermal sensing component detects the changes in temperature of the absorption component and outputs electrical signals indicative of the number and intensity of the x-rays absorbed. An image reconstructor then processes those electrical signals to reconstruct an image of the subject scanned. A method of manufacturing the detector cell is also provided.