Page 11 - act-annual-review-2022-2023
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OUR IMPACT ON HORSES
The ACT has helped fund a revolutionary Confronting lameness Improving education
new CT scanner for the RVC’s Equine Lameness is the most common clinical complaint The QECT will contribute to the learning and
Referral Hospital. The Qalibra Exceed in equine practice and as a result orthopaedic development of future veterinarians, veterinary
CT (QECT) scanner uses the newest complaints form a large proportion of the RVC specialists and inspire a new generation of
medical CT on the market and is the only Equine Referral Hospital’s caseload. The new veterinarians. Undergraduate students often struggle
bespoke equine CT currently available CT setup will enable RVC Equine to diagnose to visualise abnormalities on radiographs, as these
with the capability of acquiring the range abnormalities and initiate treatment at an earlier are 2D images of 3D structures. Having access
of high-quality examinations needed to stage. It will also facilitate more accurate diagnoses, to more cases, which have radiographs and CT
keep the RVC at the forefront of equine increase the number and variety of treatments examinations performed, will help the students
diagnostic imaging. available and therefore help advance veterinary to gain a better understanding of anatomy and
The QECT has a number of advantages over other medicine for the benefit of horses. radiography and provide an invaluable learning
models. Firstly, it has an extremely wide bore at Supporting pioneering research exercise that directly translates into day-one skills.
90cm, which will enable examination of areas of the There are numerous avenues of clinical research “I am looking forward to working with the new
horse that previously could not be imaged due to that the QECT will support, particularly studies CT which will be a valuable addition to our state-
the size limitations of previous models. Current CT focusing on health of the lower limb. This cutting- of-the art Equine Diagnostic Imaging Facilities. I
models are limited to only allow lower limbs to be edge technology can detect early changes in horses’ am excited about its capability to examine limbs
imaged once the patient has been anaesthetised and limbs (bone oedema) that might predispose them to in standing sedated horses. Additionally, the large
hoisted onto a specially made bed. Anaesthetising fractures during training or competition. If research gantry size will enable us to image more proximal
horses can be risky and therefore lower leg scans performed with the new equipment confirms this, and wider areas that do not fit in smaller systems.
which may not be perceived as life-threatening fatal accidents could be reduced which would have The high quality of the new system will keep
are not routinely performed. This new CT can be a major impact on animal welfare, decreased horse RVC Equine at the forefront of what is possible
lowered into the ground, so a standing horse can fatalities and improved rider safety. in diagnostic imaging.”
simply extend its lower limb into the gantry. This can
be done under sedation which is far less risky than The dual source feature of the CT, used commonly Freddie Dash, Staff clinician in Equine
general anaesthesia. This will be a big improvement in humans for detection of bone oedema-like lesions Diagnostic Imaging
in the management of lame or poorly performing and to further characterise soft tissue abnormalities,
horses and hence contribute significantly to animal adds a new and exciting tool for investigating
welfare. In addition, the QECT has the fastest musculoskeletal disease in horses. This feature
image acquisition time of any large bore CT scanner will facilitate research into lesion development
which will increase image quality whilst decreasing and progression by detecting subtle but potential
radiation exposure to the patient and staff. important subclinical changes.
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