A new type of multiparticle three-dimensional imaging detector for the measurement of kinetic energy releases in molecular dissociation processes is presented. The detector makes use of the new generation of multianode photomultipliers to produce a timing signal for the simultaneous impact of several particles on the surface of a microchannel plate coupled to a phosphor screen. The detector is capable of subnanosecond time resolution (about 100 ps for the present setup) and position resolution (using a standard charge-coupled-device camera) of about 100 &mgr;m. The detector is suitable for ultrahigh-vacuum operation and can work with particles over a range of kinetic energies from keV to MeV. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.