THERE are high hopes that the region will soon get the first in a new generation of superscanners.

Yesterday's announcement by Health Minister Rosie Winterton that the Government is to invest £20m in improving access to scans over the next two years has been welcomed by North-East health officials.

A joint committee representing North-East hospital consultants has been preparing the case for a Positron Emission Tomography (Pet) scanner to be installed in the North-East.

News that the Government is to make cash available for Pet scanners from early next year was welcomed by June Tulley, director of the Cancer Care Alliance, in Middlesbrough.

"It is great news for us. It means our patients will no longer have to travel to London," said Miss Tulley.

"My best bet would be that we are likely to have a fixed scanner in Newcastle," she added.

Pet scans would lead to about 30 per cent of treatment plans being changed because of improved knowledge, she added.

Moira Davidson, director of the Northern Cancer Network in Newcastle, said: "This is certainly good news. We think we need more than 2,000 scans a year for our population and we are hoping we will get a fixed scanner."

The technology is expected to benefit patients with neurological conditions and heart disease.