Thermal Imaging?

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Lulup

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Having read a previous post where sombody used this after it being suggested on here - I am interested to know peoples experiences with it because it seems like an exciting revelation to me but I am prepared to be told otherwise!!

I have a (recently purchased) horse with a 'mystery' lameness apparently due to non specific fetlock pain (nerve blocked out to this area) no heat/swelling/obvious signs and x-rays clear. As I can't afford MRI vet has suggested that I just turn him out till next year and then see how he is. At the age of 8 he is is now getting fat in the field and I am none the wiser as to what the problem really is. From what I have read it seems that Thermal Imaging is a relatively inexpensive alternative to an MRI and could possibly highlight a problem elsewhere or at least confirm that the problem is def in the fetlocks.

I also have a 4 year old I am in the process of breaking and would be very interested to check for any potential problem areas before ridden work even begins (call me paranoid!!).

Just seems that at a reasonably minor cost it could be a really useful indicator - I could see myself having my horses done annually as a routine check! In fact it is less expensive than a vetting and could potentially be more useful as it almost like having x-ray vision!!

Am I missing something? Is it cheap because its pretty ineffective? On one of the sites I looked at they also provided a veterinary 'interpretation' of the images and this was a lot more expensive - I am wondering whether this is the problem - is the info uselss to the lay person? But surely if it directs you to the area of the problem then that is pretty useful in itself?
 
I think you've put your finger on the problem. It is one thing to have the imaging done, another to be able to interpret the results in a meaningful way. As I understand it, "hot spots" can indicate a variety of things and being able to tell what is significant and what isn't. doing it on a healthy horse could create more confusion than certainty, which is probably why they are not used in vettings.

Gait analysis is increasingly used in vettings and I can see the benefit in that to be honest.
 
I have sent you a message about my experience.
With the right 'eyes' it is a fantastic bit of kit and as long as you use it in conjunction with good vets it is extremely beneficial.
 
Echo this.
Without the Thermal Imaging and a fantastic vet/osteo my horse would have been a write off.
As it stands now, i have a very happy, healthy, athletic horse... before I had a rearing/sweaty stress head
 
i had a good chat with my vet about it, he reckons that it is essential that the pics are taken in a temperature-controlled stable, this makes a huge difference.
i've been told they use one at Avonvale vets, with lots of success.
 
Hi, just wanted to share my experiences with thermal imaging. I use a vet called Roger Meacock, he is not my local vet, but travels around the country, using his thermal imager and scenar. He uses the imager to pinpoint hotspots, and then treats them with the scenar. Several top riders use him.

If you want all the info on him and how the scenar works goggle him, all I can say that even though I don't completely understand how it works I have had nothing but success when my horses have been treated by him. In particular one mare who ran into a parked landrover and nearly destroyed her leg. The thermal imager is a very useful tool, but of course it has still to be interperated by a qualified eye. But I would much rather start with the imager than the more traditional route of nerve blocks and flexion test, it is quite comforting (or not) to see your horses image. :)
 
Echo other people saying it all depends on who interprets the info.

I have regularly used a Flir camera as my physio has one so he uses it routinely when looking at the horses.

However I have also come across a lady who has a MEDICAL grade thermal imaging camera. This camera has full FDA approval in America and has been used to successfully show breast abnormalities in people up to 10 years before a mammogram.

Unlike many of the industrial thermal imaging camera that are used the medical grade camera does not suffer from thermal drift and it has been calibrated that it only takes heat from the horse that it is being used on.

The images are then sent to an interpertor who has been specially trained by the guy who developed the camera to analyse the info. Sometimes heat spots are not the indicator that needs to be looked for, but rather the cold areas. Also by looking at the different heat patterns the medical grade camera claims to be able to identify other issues such as neurological probs as well.

The medical grade camera is more expensive to use but if I had a horse with a mysterious lameness (and I didn't have my physio) I would go for the medical grade camera rather than an industrial one.

Good Luck.
 
I use it on Pidge but only to pinpoint where there is a heat problem. It is not used to diagnose what the problem is but more as a help to say there is something going on in that area? Does that make sense? When he had his off moments and wasn't quite right in March I had it done, it showed a hot spot in his hock so when I spoke to vets I told them about it and they went from there.He had x-rays and it was hock spavin again. Use it as well to see how the saddle fits which is good.
Forgot to say if rugged rug comes off well before the scanning is done.
 
I agree with the above that it is a very useful tool with the right person interpretating it. I've had a girl come out and do it twice on my horse. The first time it showed heat in one of her tendons. I had on that same day wondered if I could feel heat (but it wasn't very obvious) but I didn't tell the interpretator that. I took my horse to the vets to have her tendon scanned and whilst there was no damage it showed a minor thickening so the vet advised 6 weeks off. After that my mare was fine. Without the thermal imaging i may well have gone on to do more damage because the heat wasn't that noticable to the human hand.

The second time it showed that my horse's legs were fine but the right side of back was sore. The physio later independently confirmed the same thing.

Like everything you can't take the results as gospel, but it is a very useful tool to point the way and as a general check up in my opinion. Like someone else said on her, the cold spots are also as important as the hot as this can indicate lack of circulation to an area.

You also have to remember that it is a lot cheaper than scans, x-rays etc so sometimes vets are quick to say its not very useful!
 
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