April 29, 2009

New Zealand has its first CT scanner with an integrated table to allow for the scanning of large animals such as horses, cows and even small whales.

The unit has been installed at Massey University's vet teaching hospital on its Manawatu campus.

The $470,000 Philips CT unit has been housed in a purpose-built facility costing $1.1 million.

The scanner will be used for any animals that require it. Its installation came through the initiative of Landcorp Farming.

Professor Hugh Blair said the catalyst for the facility has been increasing demand over several decades from consumers who want less fat in their meat.

"One solution to this has been to select genetically leaner animals so that over time, the animals become progressively leaner," he said.

"However, this has proven a challenge to animal breeders as it is difficult to estimate body fatness in a live animal. Computed Technology (CT) scanning provides a non-invasive means of estimating body composition."

Landcorp has used CT scanning in its ram breeding programmes for more than a decade, Professor Blair said, and staff from the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences worked with its staff to establish the new facility.

Standard x-rays have been the diagnostic imaging standard of care in veterinary medicine for decades.

CT scans also use x-rays but the x-ray tube spins around the patient and many, small detectors record the pattern of x-ray absorption in the patient. A powerful computer platform uses the data to generate volume sets of images displayed in thin slices of the patient on the screen.

The additional information gathered allows a radiologist to be more sensitive and specific in determining the underlying disease process. It also allows the medicine and surgical specialists to more precisely determine the degree of disease and response to therapy on re-check examinations.

Radiologist Dr Angela Hartman now has three radiographers in the Department of Diagnostic Imaging. Dr Hartman and Dr Mark Owen are the radiologists who interpret the images.

"The scanner is being used on our primary Massey clients and on animals that are referred by vets around the country," Dr Hartman said. "CT scans are very affordable given the amount of information they provide the clinicians involved. They will allow for more success in therapy given the more precise diagnosis."