A state-of-the-art scanning unit, which will improve the treatment and diagnosis of serious illnesses, has opened at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.

The technology is housed at the University of Edinburgh's new Clinical Research Imaging Centre, which officials describe as "the first fully-integrated imaging facility of its kind in the UK".

University chiefs said experts will be able to use the imaging equipment to scan organs instantly to see in great detail how they function.

They will also be able to track the flow of blood through vessels, determine the spread of diseases and assess the effectiveness of new drugs.

Investigations will be able to take place without invasive procedures, reducing the need for biopsies or angiograms, where catheters are used.

The university said the centre, based at its Queen's Medical Research Institute, features a high-strength magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner which can safely identify tissue abnormalities.

A computerised tomography (CT) scanner, described as the most advanced in the world, is also able to scan entire organs in less than a second. A CT-positron emission tomography (PET/CT) scanner can also pinpoint the spread of cancer.

Centre director Professor Edwin Van Beek said: "There have been dramatic advances in imaging over the past decade, changing the way we look at disease and our understanding of the biological processes involved.

"As opposed to simply looking at the structures of the body - such as the heart and the brain - we can look at how organs are functioning in real time. This will not only help us better understand disease but it will help us to improve both diagnosis and treatments."

Professor David Newby, head of research and development at NHS Lothian, said the centre brings together the latest imaging technologies in a single facility.

"With the University of Edinburgh's world-leading clinical research, this will allow a major improvement in our ability rapidly to investigate and understand the most serious and distressing diseases in our patients," he said.