NEW ultrasound machines at Bendigo Radiology are further eliminating the need for people living in rural and regional areas to travel to Melbourne for medical treatment.
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The Australian-first machines boast state-of-the-art technology and will improve the quality of each scan.
Bendigo Radiology quality manager Megan Egan said the EPIQ ultrasound machines were much better than previous technology for diagnostic imaging.
"You can see internal organs much, much easier - so if there's anything going wrong then it's easier to diagnose what's going wrong," she said.
They use 25 per cent less energy than any of the other ultrasound machines on the market
- Megan Egan
"These ones are particularly good for muscular skeletal - so this is particularly good for people who have sore shoulders, sore knees, sore hips.
"One of the other great things about them is that they use 25 per cent less energy than any of the other ultrasound machines on the market.
"So they're actually efficient and environmentally friendly."
Ms Egan said the machines were worth up to $170,000.
"But because we got four of them we did get a pretty good deal on them," she said.
"We were one of the first places to get them - we're leading the way.
"We've put one into Hamilton and we've also supported Warracknabeal getting a new one.
"But they're the only ones that I know of with the new technology so far."
Ms Egan said patients were impressed with the new machines.
"People are aware there's a brand new technology in Bendigo," she said.
"We've had some really positive feedback and people have been impressed.
"Bendigo is only an hour and a half away from Melbourne so the population of the community really needs to have the best technology that it can.
"We're not a remote centre that just has the dregs of what's on the market.
"We need to be able to provide good things."
Ms Egan said the machines could take 3D scans of babies but Bendigo Radiology has another machines specifically built for that purpose.
"We have a specific ultrasound machine that is purpose built for 3D babies so we've been offering that service for a little while and mums love that," she said.
"It's amazing because you can see what your baby will look like, which is incredible.
"We've got this one particular one of a baby smiling - well it looks like it's smiling, despite the experts telling you a baby can't be smiling.
"It's just lovely to see those sorts of things."
