Page 8 - Paws and Hooves - Spring 2016

The UK’s rst specialist equine CT scanner
The UK’s rst specialist widebore equine CT scanner is now in use at the Royal Veterinary College’s Equine Hospital. The scanner was part-funded by donations to the RVC Animal Care Trust and is set to drastically improve the examinations and treatment available to the hospital’s patients.
Importantly, the new CT scanner is 10cm wider than the standard (75cm) and this speci c adaptation for horses has a big effect on how much of a horse can be examined. Most of the neck will now be able to t into the scanner, enabling RVC vets to enhance their diagnostic ability, improve their understanding of neck problems in the horse and allowing them to develop new treatment methods.
Diagnostic imaging is crucial in treating animals since animals cannot communicate exactly where they feel pain. In fact, imaging is a key component of the diagnostic process in most patients at the Equine Hospital, with more than 80% of cases undergoing at least one imaging procedure.
CT scans are a vital part of this process, producing virtual slices of structures that can be used to form a 3D picture, making it possible to identify very small, but clinically signi cant wounds (such as tooth root abscesses) amongst very complex anatomy.
The RVC has long been at the forefront of diagnostic imaging and was the rst equine hospital to install a CT scanner for horses in 2003. In 2009 the con guration of the CT set up was changed so that examinations could be performed in a standing position, using a specially adapted platform to allow horses’ heads and necks to be moved effortlessly into and out of the scanner. This innovation means that horses do not have to be put under general anaesthetic, a very risky procedure for horses, in order for their head and most of the neck to be scanned.
The newly installed CT scanner at the Equine Hospital builds on this and places the RVC at the forefront of equine treatment.
RVC Equine Lecture Series
The RVC Equine team offer a range of lectures to horse owners which discuss and give advice on the latest treatments and management of a variety of horse diseases and disorders. See a list of upcoming talks and register online at:
www.rvc.ac.uk/rvc-equine/practice/client-education/equine-lecture-series
8 Paws & Hooves 2016