NOVA.SCOTIA (CBC) - Patients in Nova Scotia can now get access to a state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging machine without leaving the province.

Nova Scotia's first Positron Emission Tomography and Computerized Tomography (PET/CT) diagnostic imaging suite at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax uses three-dimensional imaging to monitor diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's.

Dr. Andrew Ross said the machine combines two technologies that make a flat image three-dimensional so he can get a better look. Those 3D pictures show cancer cells that other tests don't.

"The biggest one is lung cancer where this has been shown really be a vital part in terms of the staging of it, in terms of looking whether a spot on the lung is cancer or not," he said Wednesday.

Up until now, patients had to travel to Quebec and beyond to access this kind of technology.

The $6-million diagnostic scanner is expected to help up to 1,500 patients a year. Funding is coming from the province and the QEII Foundation, as well as Aliant and a group of radiologists.

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