Dunstan Hospital people and specialist services director Cath Haig said the new machine replaced the existing one.
While the old one was still functional, the sonographers were excited about the quality of images on the new one.
The hospital had purchased the machine at a government contract price, which was less than the commercial cost, Ms Haig said.
Generous funding from the Healthcare Otago Charitable Trust had helped towards the cost.
"We are grateful for their donation as this is essential equipment for our community."
The machine was used daily on a wide range of issues, from baby scans to checking joints to looking for clots in veins, she said.
Sonographer Becs Holland said she was excited to have the new machine to work on.
Patients could see their scans as they were done and pictures could be printed for them.
The hospital was recruiting for sonographers and the new machine would definitely be an attraction, she said.
Canon senior application specialist Brent Holland, of Sydney, was in Clyde training staff on the new machine.
It was a high-end one found in many private practices and urban hospitals, he said.
One of its advantages was it could penetrate further than older ones. Ultrasounds relied on sound waves going into the patient and returning to the wand.
As people were getting larger, it was important machines had a greater ability to reach further into their bodies.
