A Bradford hospital is the first in the world to get a new £600,000 state-of-the-art piece of equipment which will provide quicker and more detailed body and head scans.

The CT scanner has been installed at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI), ahead of the machine being used for the first time in the UK on Monday.

The scanner replaces one which had been used for ten years at BRI and can perform 50 scans a day, compared to the 35 of the previous machine.

Clinical services manager Nigel Lewis said: “Our new CT scanner is fantastic news for the people of Bradford as it brings innovative, cutting-edge technology to the city for the benefit of more patients.

“This machine is the first of its kind in the world and in an instant can provide 160 slice images of the body in just 0.35 seconds. It also uses a very low dose of radiation compared to older CT scanners.

“I can’t understate the benefits that the new scanner brings to the hospital and our patients and I can’t overstate how good this equipment is.”

The Prime CT scanner provides radiographers and radiologists with a near-instant 160 slice image of the patient’s body in just one rotation and provides more detail than ever before.

The machine’s coverage allows entire organs such as the heart to be scanned in just four heart beats. It also provides clinicians with sharper lung and excellent soft tissue detail in one image and image reading times have been shortened.

Consultant radiologist Jonathan Barber said: “Such rapid imaging gives staff increased time to spend with patients and means scans can be acquired faster.

"We will be able to scan more patients than ever and the wider bore of the machine accommodates almost any patient type.

“The bore size also makes the scanner less intimidating to patients and the gantry houses a TV screen which can show relaxation videos if patients are still nervous, or to young children.”

Manufacturer Toshiba has designated the hospital as a world reference site – a first for the UK.

It means BRI is a centre of excellence and health professionals from all over the globe will travel to the city to see the scanner work.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust operates two CT scanners at BRI and one at St Luke’s hospital.