The main focus for the new capital is to commercialise the technology into clinical and non-clinical markets.
New Zealand venture capital firm Pacific Channel led the investment raise with $7.6m last year followed by a $7.4m round of new capital to put it past an initial $10m target.
New investors include a Singapore med-sector company, and an investor from Switzerland secured through a government investor programme.
That will bring the shareholder count to 12, including father and son co-founders Philip and Anthony Butler, Pacific Channel and New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery.
The medical device company has set the new funding aside for accelerating sales of its compact spectral photon-counting CT scanners delivering 3D colour X-ray imaging initially in New Zealand, then the United States and further afield.
Non-clinical scanners are already being sold to hospitals, universities, bio-engineering companies and laboratories in the United Statesa, United Arab Emirates, Canada, China, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
Stage two will be to generate sales of clinical scanners into medical centres and the likes of wrist clinics.
Group chief executive officer Dr Ojas Mahapatra said the company was in a strong position to make sales within this quarter year after the latest capital round exceeded expectations.
He said they were equally pleased with the addition of ‘‘smart’’ investors who could open doors for them.
"This investment allows us to build our market capability, including expanding our sales and business development teams in NZ and the US. Our new investors will also help open access to emerging markets."
Dr Mahapatra said the compact scanners would be sought after in the US as primary and diagnostic care was being pushed to periphery clinics while hospitals concentrated on treatment.
He said leading scanner manufacturers had come out with their own photon-counting full-body scanners to give colour X-rays.
‘‘There is absolute consensus among everyone that photon counting is the future and we are quite unique as we are able to offer that photon counting in a portable point-of-care format near the community. So that story is resonating quite a bit with investors.’’
He said initial sales were expected to be in the muscular-skeletal field to wrist, knee and ankle, sports and emergency clinics.
Hospitals could also purchase them to ‘‘de-clog’’ long delays for full-body CT scans, he said.
Dr Mahapatra said the company was about two months away from gaining FDA clearance to meet US rules for medical devices.
MARS had just hired a sales manager for the Asia-Pacific area with a senior US manager to be appointed in March.
The company was the first in the world to produce a colour CT-imaging system.
Chairman Christopher Stoelhorst said the investment allowed the company to scale up adoption of its diagnostic and clinical research scanners.
He said the calibre of new investors reinforced its strategy was on the right path and would enable it to accelerate growth plans.
Pacific Channel managing partner Brent Ogilvie said the company was entering a critical growth phase.
‘‘This investment reflects our confidence in MARS’ differentiated technology, its world-class team, and its ability to deliver meaningful improvements in clinical and research outcomes through advanced imaging."
Unlike traditional low-resolution black-and-white CT scans, the MARS scanner delivers detailed 3D colour images of the body, for faster and more accurate scanning and diagnosis.
The seven to eight colours or contrasts provide greater resolution for medical specialists to interpret images of upper extremity injuries, fractures, implants, rheumatology disorders and arthritis and see if metal implants have bonded.
The portable system visualises soft tissue, bone, blood vessels and implants in detail, without the need to inject X-ray contrast agents into the patient or be surrounded by lead-coated rooms.
