Queenslanders live in the skin cancer capital of the world, but long wait times often make accessibility and subsequent medical treatment difficult.
Approximately 170 people in the central Queensland region are diagnosed with melanoma each year.
A husband-and-wife medical team has brought a 3D whole-body imaging system to Rockhampton to try to increase detection.
"There are 21 of these in the world, this is number 21. They are mainly used in research facilities," radiologist John Evans said.
The VECTRA WB360 is a floor-to-ceiling scanner that looks like something out of a movie.
A patient walks into the centre of the device and stands still as it takes a high-resolution, 3D photograph.
"There are 92 cameras in it, each of them is 25 megapixels. That gives us the high resolutions which allow the dermatologists to work out what is going on with a patient," Dr Evans said.
The image is then securely accessed by dermatologists on the Sunshine Coast using tele-dermatology.
The process from start to finish takes approximately 30 minutes.
Dr Evans' wife Leith Banney is the director of dermatology at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital. She said the images would help improve the ability to detect changes in the skin in a quick and thorough process.
"It creates a 3D avatar of the person photographed," Dr Banney said.
"That avatar can be manipulated on-screen — you can zoom in, zoom out, check lesions."
Dr Banney said increasing accessibility for central Queenslanders could ultimately save a life.
"We at Sunshine Coast have been doing tele-dermatology more and more, particularly during the pandemic. It's a huge part of what we do," she said.
Danella Martin from Cancer Council Queensland said the new clinic and technology was exciting.
"Improvements in technology, able to improve access, that early detection is so important," Ms Martin said.
"The more we can check our skin, get it checked by those health professionals, the outcomes can definitely improve."
