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Ultrasound Ultrasound offers a non-invasive, non-painful method for the diagnosis and staging of many diseases. Ultrasound is one of the best modalities to evaluate fluid filled and soft tissue organs. Because ultrasound will not penetrate through air, ultrasound cannot be used to evaluate abnormalities if they are surrounded by gas, nor will ultrasound penetrate bone. Ultrasound also offers a method of obtaining fine needle aspirates or true-cut biopsies of tissues, which are visualized with ultrasound (including masses or organs), without having to put the patient through surgery to obtain such samples. The typical ultrasound examination requires no tranquilization or anesthesia and is easily performed on awake animals. Prior fasting or water withholding is NOT required. The only patient preparation necessary is clipping of the hair overlying the area to be scanned (the ultrasound will not penetrate through hair) and placing coupling gel on the skin surface just prior to the exam process. The entire scanning process usually takes less than 30-40 minutes. Images are displayed on the monitor of the ultrasound machine and are interpreted during the scan, so there is no delay in obtaining the results. All ultrasounds are performed by Dr. Voges, our board certified veterinary radiologist, in our facility. Echocardiography Echocardiography (ultrasound examination of the heart) allows us to see the inside of the heart in motion. Frequently, when a heart murmur (or abnormal heart sound) or rhythm is detected during a physical examination of your pet, an echocardiogram (echo) is part of the complete heart workup or evaluation. From the images obtained during an echo, measurements of cardiac contractility or function can be obtained and compared to normal values. Ultrasound of the heart can detect areas of abnormal wall motion, chamber dilatation and wall thickening or defects that the pet may have been born with.. Nuclear Medicine (Scintigraphy) Nuclear medicine or scintigraphy is the use of radioactive substances in studying the physiology of the body—or “how the body works”. This type of study is important to see how the body works, especially for the bones, kidneys, liver and thyroids. Bone scans—these can be used to determine the cause of a nonspecific lameness (limping for unknown reason) or look for signs that cancer has spread to bone. If your pet is lame and the cause has not be localized to a specific area; a bone scan can be helpful in localizing the cause of the lameness. We give a radioactive substance, which acts like phosphorus in the body to your pet. And because the body uses phosphorus to make bone, anywhere that bone is being made or destroyed, there will be a “hot spot” or area of increased radioactivity. This is helpful in localizing pain associated with arthritis or other disease, but also useful in looking for signs that cancer has spread to bones. Kidney scans—this is a study in which a radioactive substance is given to look at how well the kidneys are working. We can determine if the overall kidney function is normal or low and if both kidneys are working and what percentage of work the right and left kidneys are each performing. This type of study is important if there is a chance that one kidney may need to be surgically removed; we perform this study prior to surgery to confirm adequate function in the opposite kidney. Thyroid scans—these are used to look at the thyroid glands, and are most often used in hyperthyroid cats to determine whether is animal is or is not hyperthyroid, whether this condition is unilateral (one side) or bilateral (both right and left lobes affected), whether there is thyroid tissue in an abnormal or unusual location and whether the condition is suspected to be malignant (cancerous). (See section on radioactive iodine therapy). Liver scans--- the most common type of liver scan performed in small animals is actually not a true “liver scan” or liver function test. The most common nuclear medicine study related to the liver is a transcolonic study, where we evaluate the blood flow to the liver. Young dogs are often affected by a condition called a porto-systemic shunt, which is an abnormal blood vessel in the abdomen, which causes blood flow to bypass the liver and go straight to the heart from the intestinal tract. This condition is repairable by surgery in most cases; however, is often difficult to diagnose. A transcolonic nuclear study will confirm the presence or absence of a shunt prior to the invasive surgical procedure. There are many other types of nuclear medicine procedures which can be performed; but the above are the most commonly used in veterinary medicine and at our facility. Radioactive Iodine Treatment (I131 for hyperthyroid cats) Hyperthyroidism is the clinical syndrome that exists when there is overproduction of circulating thyroid hormone, which is the hormone that regulates the body’s metabolism. This means that hyperthyroid cats have very high metabolism. Because the thyroid hormone affects the whole body’s metabolism and body systems, if this disease goes untreated multiple organ systems may be affected and damaged. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of hyperthyroid cats will have some degree of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is a condition where the heart muscle becomes thickened. Most hyperthyroid cats will have increased heart rates and irregular heart rhythm. The majority of these cats will have abnormalities on routine chemistry panels (blood analysis) reflecting damage to the liver, kidneys and muscle. Veterinary Imaging Center specializes in treatment of Feline Hyperthyroidism with radioactive iodine treatment. Advanced Imaging Advanced imaging refers to specialized or advanced methods of imaging of the body advanced beyond general radiography. We use this term to refer to computed tomography or “cat scans” (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. These studies provide high detail, cross sectional images of the body. This is most frequently used in cases of neurological disease. These are excellent at evaluating the brain and spinal cord for disease or abnormalities.. CT or Computed Tomography CT is available within our facility on a daily basis. CT provides cross sectional images of the body. CT is excellent at imaging the thorax, nasal cavity, bony structures and tympanic bulla (middle ear). CT also provides a way to look inside the brain, at the spinal cord and even the abdominal cavity. CT has the advantage of accessibility and lower cost but disadvantage of slightly lower resolution, when compared to MRI. MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI is only available to us on a limited "off-site" basis. The advantage of MRI over CT is superb resolution but disadvantage is cost and limited access. MRI is an excellent tool used to image the brain and spinal cord. |
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