First 3D imaging lab launched in Victoria HEART and cancer patients will be among those to benefit from Australia's first 3D imaging lab, which experts say will help save lives. The machine at Melbourne's Monash Medical Centre gives doctors a clearer and more detailed picture of organs, skeletal problems and tumours than ever before. Testing is also faster than a CT scan or ultrasound, cutting down patient waiting times for test results. The centre's deputy director of radiology, Associate Professor Ronnie Ptasznik, set up the new imaging lab after consulting with a number of international clinics. Prof Ptasznik said the machine allows specialists to look into the body's internal structures and identify where tumours are and whether a patient can have lifesaving surgery. "We move away from the bad old days when the patient was opened up and then had to wake up and be told they were inoperable and still had to recover from the surgery," he said at the launch of the lab on Thursday. It's truly life-changing medical therapy. Launching the lab, Victorian Health Minister David Davis said it will not only give doctors a more exact picture of patient problems, but provide them with better-tailored treatment. "Victorian hospitals have long led the way in embracing innovation and technology to get the best results for patients, long before the rest of Australia signs up," he said. Mr Davis said Victoria's growing and ageing population means there will be a need for more people with medical radiations and imaging skills that can perform a range of diagnostic tests. He said the government recently set up a strategy to help attract and keep more staff in this critical area of health.