Equine thermography(equine scanning)

[crazycoloured]

Has anyone tried this? or have any experiences?

 

[broodmare]

Yes, I've used it - very impressed. Gave me a holisitic view of what was going on when my horse's performance declined, so vet could then hone in on where the problem was (back). I used Veterinary Thermal Imaging, very helpful and answered all the questions I had beforehand.

 

[itsmyparty]

We had it done on the big ginger boy. It's really interesting but didn't tell us any more than the vet had done after an MRI scan (no surprises there). Damn sight cheaper though! I think it was about £50. We had it some time after the MRI to see if there had been any improvement (our insurance wouldn't cover us for another MRI). Obviously they are looking for hotspots so it could be a way of pointing the vets in the right direction without costing you a fortune. Whether it's helpful to you or not will depend on the condition.

 

[crazycoloured]

Its a problem in her hindleg which has caused a slight lameness.She has had no previous scans/ treatment.she's been like this for the past 7 months..

 

[Llwyncwn]

I had two of mine done yesterday by The Inner Picture and it was fascinating. With no history given, I was amazed at the pictures and their interpretation. The camera will obviously show hot spots, and it is the exprerience of the thermography expert to interpret normal hot spots as opposed to the unusual. It will show problems areas which need to be addressed, bone fractures, abcessess, changes to bone (spavin etc), back and saddle fitting problems. Do your homework and smerf the web for info. I had one of mine done prior to skintigraphy which I probably wont go for now.
Hope you sort the lameness issues.

 

[crazycoloured]

Would the scan show up any joint issues.i have mentioned it to my vet and he was against the idea.he said it wont show up joint problems only soft tissue??

 

[broodmare]

It'll show you if there is a problem in the joint... won't necessarily tell you what that problem is though - you might need an xray or ultrasound to find out more. Although, if the thermal imaging technician has a high res camera, you can make out the anatomy just the same as you can from a normal photo - quite amazing really.
Basically it shows where the body is working hard to repair an area, can no longer do anything to repair an area (chronic conditions), or is compensating and trying to avoid using a problem area. Joint problems (same as soft tissue problems) are all shown, as the body will increase bloodflow to the joint (or it'll decrease in e.g. arthritis).
You'll need to find someone who can interpret the images if your vet isn't too familiar with them...
Hind leg lameness can eminante from neck and back problems. If you got these areas imaged too, you'd have more of an idea of what was going on and why perhaps...

 

[crazycoloured]

Yes the people i rang suggested a full body scan.the company im using is www.equiscan.co.uk..they seem a good company and iv talked to them over the phone and they explained everything to me.i think its worth a shot.thank-u broodmare helpful advice..

 

[crazycoloured]

www.equiscan.co.uk

 

[Southywesty]

What you need to remember is that you need a constant temeperature around the horse (thermostatically controlled room) and horse needs to acclimatise for 20-40 mins before thermography is performed, to get accurate results. As i undersatnd this is not the case with the companies that undertake such imaging with clients horses....
The images will also only monitor surface temperatures....

 

[Llwyncwn]

Crazy - I have had my images back through the post on disc and will post a thread shortly with the pics for you to see.

 

[crazycoloured]

thank-u iv just seen them very interesting-hope all goes well..

 

[TayloredEq]

Southwesty - with equiscan as the company use a medical grade camera it is calibrated to ignore external influences.

 

[broodmare]

Southwesty - absolutely, really careful prep is needed for these images to be of value, you can't just point and shoot...

Southwesty - with equiscan as the company use a medical grade camera it is calibrated to ignore external influences.

mmm I researched these cameras - medical grade means suitable for use indoors in a clinical setting on humans. These cameras are only accurate at ambient temperatures of 20 degrees C or more (as you would get indoors at a clinic), they aren't accurate outdoors in a UK winter.
No camera can ignore external influences. Sunlight, draughts etc..

 

[broodmare]

http://www.meditherm.com/equine/specifications.htm

Here's the website I found when looking around - operating temperature (near bottom of list) has to be between 18 and 30 degrees (not above 20 as I thought before)... still not that often over 18 degrees here, wish it was though!

 

[Zanzie]

I had my horse scanned by Jackie Lockett from Equimaze. She is qualified and I believe trained by Equitherm. The images showed up problems with the saddle fitting so I called my saddler out to have a look. He adjusted the saddle from looking at where the problem was from the images and I have just had Jackie back out again to see if there is any improvement. Its brilliant to see from the images the improvement from when I first had them done and my horse is going forward a lot happier. Jackie is based in Staffordshire but will travel and her email address is jackie.lockett@hotmail.com. Tel: 0781 7860339.