 |
| Tiny Phil (anaesthetised) in a ginormous CT scanner at the Animal Referral Hospital. |
One of the interesting
developments in veterinary medicine and surgery is the explosion in
imaging technology. When I graduated the concept of performing and MRI or CT
was something clinicians would have a laugh about – "As if we could ever do
that!" Now I refer patients for those procedures. Diagnostically, prognostically
and therapeutically, advanced imaging can make all the difference. And as SAT
readers would know, Phil had a CT when investigating his unilateral rhinitis
(aka his propensity to shoot monster boogers from one nostril…a charming little
talent which he retains, although the incidence has been reduced by treatment).
So I was interested to learn
that the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine just opened its Centre for
Image-Guided Animal Therapy. According to a statement,
“Recent years have seen breakneck
innovation in the field of radiology, from MRI-guided biopsies, to image-guided
stenting, to ways to lower radiation dosage while preserving image quality.
Now, a dedicated centre at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is
making those innovations available to our four-legged — and even winged —
friends.”
Professor Dara Kraitchman (DVM, PhD) is
Director of the centre. It will act as a referral facility, providing access to
x-ray fluoroscopy and angiography, CT, MRI and positron emission tomography. It
will also be used to perform image-guided biopsies and minimally invasive surgical
procedures like cryoablation and stenting.
The
facility currently scans about 10 patients per week. Its team includes
Kraitchman; veterinary anaesthesiologist and co-director Rebecca Krimins, veterinary and MRI
technicians; and nursing staff. Images will be transferred in real time to a
veterinary radiologist for final evaluation and then sent to the patient’s
veterinarian.
You can read more about it here.
