We are incredibly proud to be the first clinic in the UK to install the new Qalibra CT system. The state of the art system is specifically modified for equine use, and uses a high-end human grade fan-beam CT scanner mounted on an height adjustable platform, allowing us to scan areas of the standing horse that was not possible previously. Additionally, in this system the horses stand still while the CT scanner moves over the area being scanned, rather than the horse moving on a plinth or bed as in most systems.
CT historically comes into its own imaging heads, especially for dental and sinus pathology, however, the large bore (central hole) and height adjustable platform of this scanner enables us to also image other areas in the standing horse which would previously only have been possible under general anaesthesia. For example we are able to image the lower limb up to knee and hock, and the neck to around C4-C5, in the standing, sedated, horse.
We are also able to obtain imaging of other areas under general anaesthesia, for example upper limb (elbow, shoulder, stifle, hip), pelvis, the whole neck and the cranial (front part of the) thoracic spine. We can use contrast agents to further evaluate structures such as joints, tendon sheaths, and the vertebral canal; the contrast material delineates structures such as cartilage, ligaments and tendons, allowing detailed assessment of their shape and margins.
Our beautiful new CT scanner adds to the excellent imaging facilities we already have at Bell Equine (MRI, scintigraphy, cone beam lower limb CT, xrays and ultrasound), and our imaging team of trained technicians and diagnostic imaging specialists have already scanned a wide range of horses and regions, both standing and under anaesthesia, providing high quality images for our imaging specialists to interpret.
For more information on CT scanning, if your horse is being referred for imaging, or to speak to a member of the imaging team, please call the hospital on 01622 813700.