The new MRI machine in major Sydney hospital that's freezing tumours and saving patients from debilitating pain

A new MRI machine that has the ability to freeze tumours is now in use at a hospital in Sydney's south-west, meaning patients don't need invasive surgery to fix debilitating pain.

The technique utilised by the MRI machine is called cryoablation, where a needle powered by gas is inserted into a tumour, freezing the target and turning it into an iceball.

Patients can be in and out of hospital in a day and have a quicker recovery time than would be expected from normal, more invasive surgery.

READ MORE: Jewish and Palestinian leaders in Australia attack government's symbolic move

"That ice is used to kill the tumour in a very neat, discreet way," Dr Glenn Schlaphoff from Liverpool Hospital told 9News.

One patient who has already reaped the benefits is grandmother Josephine Cordina, 64, whose serious pain was caused by a nine-millimetre tumour on her spine.

"Lying down and sitting down was the worst pain, even to sleep I had to take pain killers," she said.

Cordina was told she could have had an invasive operation but it wasn't something she wanted to go through.

"They wanted to dig it out and then they'd have to put screws there to support the bone," she said.

READ MORE: 'Answer to autism': Trump goes off-book for major reveal at Kirk memorial

She elected to use the new MRI machine at Liverpool Hospital, and said everything had changed within a day.

"The next day I had no pain, it was all gone and I'm back to normal, so it was a big relief," she said.

Schlaphoff told 9News the machine was the first of its kind in Australia, and it can also be used to treat soft tissue tumours in the liver and kidneys.

The MRI machine is part of a broader redevelopment of Liverpool Hospital, which is being upgraded to serve the fast-growing south-west region of Sydney.

Nearly $1 billion is being spent on upgrading the hospital, according to Health Minister Ryan Park, and it will also include a new cancer centre, which is expected to be completed in 2027.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.