A Canterbury father and son duo has used cutting edge technology to invent the world's first colour X-ray machine.
The MARS scanner reveals much more than just bone fractures in its images, its efficiency could one day aid in cutting down hospital wait times.
Based at the University of Canterbury, Anthony Butler and his father Phil are the brains behind this medical game-changer.
Intricate details such as fat and soft tissue can be revealed by using the world's first colour x-ray system.
The MARS scanner uses cutting edge technology to provide crucial detail. It's information that's currently ignored by most X-ray systems
"Normally they'd just have a 2D black and white X- ray done and that misses about 15 percent of significant injuries," Anthony told Newshub.
In 2014 the Government gave the project $12 million funding, with the aim of using the technology in hospitals.
"When people fall over and hurt themselves usually their first port of call is their GP or after hours and we'd really like to be able to provide a device that works there for them," said Anthony.
The non-invasive machine has less radiation than most normal X-rays.
The current machine is designed for smaller parts of the body like wrists but Anthony says he hopes the technology will improve.
"Future machines could be about head and neck, knees, ankles that kind of thing,"
Clinical trials of the scanner will be rolled out in several centres throughout New Zealand next year.
