Christchurch may soon be home to the world's first colour x-ray scanner, that's useable on humans.

The government has offered Canterbury University researchers $12 million in funding to develop the X-ray, that offers a greater breakdown of what's going on inside the body.

Associate professor Anthony Butler says the scanner will enable doctors to study the components of human tissues and some drugs, to improve diagnosis and disease management.

He says their main focus is on heart disease and bone implants like hip replacements, but it also has the potential to help cancer researchers and drug developers.