How Thermography can benefit your Veterinary practice!
Veterinarians can benefit from not having an in house Thermography machine, having an outside provider can be both economical and logical! It is very economical to use an outside provider because of the huge costs of buying the machine and then paying for the expensive costs in proper certified training on how to use the machine and the proper procedures to take the thermal graphic pictures. Of course by using an outside provider you don’t have try to justify using it every day, just simply call when its needed.
The logical part of using an outside provider overlays into the economical part, it’s cheaper not to buy the machine and get trained in the use of it. The other major logical part is not having to be there at the barn to get it scanned, to properly scan a horse and get an accurate reading, a very stringent protocol must be followed, Veterinarians don’t usually have time to wait for the horse to cool down or for it to dry or to be cleaned to get mud and dirt off, using an outside provider allows the veterinarian to go on to his/her next case and be immediately emailed thermal pictures straight to his office.
The Environment and Interpretation
Having the right environment is paramount when interpreting a thermographic scan of the horse. Vets in the field will have trouble finding the best place to take the scan, plus usually the typical protocols when dealing with a scan of horse has not been taking, this will lead to what is called artifacts in the scan, artifacts are spots on the horse that are not a natural; for example, mud, water, fly-spray, manure, blankets being on just before the scan, brushing your horse before the scan, being out in the sun all day, all these things and more will cause artifacts in the scan. This is why protocols must be followed. Using an outside thermal graphic provider will help veterinarians out, because its up to the thermographer to contact the horse owner/trainer and make sure the protocols are followed to prevent artifacts from forming. In the end though not all artifacts can be stopped, when this happens it is up to the thermographer to prepare the report to the veterinarian alerting him/her where there are or could be an artifact depending on how close the protocols were followed.
Here is picture of horse in his stall, see the line between hot and cold? with out correct interpretation of the thermal you may think something is seriously wrong with the horse, but in fact when we look at it's complimentary picture we can see that there is in fact an artifact is in the picture.
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Looking at this picture we can see the sun is coming in from the horse's left side, the sun is a serious artifact in terms of misleading the thermal image, obviously this is not a good place to be scanning the horse, but it is a good lesson in why the horse owner/trainer must follow the protocols as best as possible!
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Thermal Uses
- An extra diagnostic tool
- An overview of the horse allowing us to see an immediate look at the horse’s physiology.
- Diagnostic tool that can be used first instead of using more expensive tools
- Helps detects secondary effects to a primary problem
- poor fitting saddle and/or rider imbalance
- Detects passed over cold spots and nerve damage
- Help monitor your current injuries process throughout healing process
- Help insure that the horse is healed and ready to go back to work
- Helps horse owner monitor progress for an injury, training, foot imbalance, and more…
- Another tool to help assist you in an pre-purchase Veterinary examination
- Legal records
Articles on Thermography written by Veterinarians
- Back to Reality: Thermal imaging as an objectifier of equine back pain and saddle-fitting problems
- Case Studies in Equine Thermal Imaging
- Seeing Red.
- Robson, J. "Horses in Color: The role of thermography in the equine industry." IRInfo January 2009
Thermography with the Veterinarian and Pre-Purchase Exams
Having your horse thermally scanned during a pre purchase exam helps all parties see a visual representation of the problems that you the Veterinarian may find during the pre purchase exam, by having the horse scanned it gives you something other than a subjective opinion, you are able to take the picture and say yes this is where I see the problem and its confirmed here on the thermal scan.
Client Satisfaction!
One of the most important things here at William F James Thermal imaging is we believe that our clients’ money must be spent wisely and efficiently, with thermography the client knows their money isn’t being wasted because the veterinarian can confidently show the client where the problem is!
Thermography is like the all Seeing Eye, it can detect what is happening to the horse’s physiology at that given moment! It helps us detect and locate injuries ranging in all forms, it also helps us determine primary and secondary symptoms, it also allows the veterinarian show the client exactly where more tests may need to done for example ultra sound or x ray!
Without thermography to help in your veterinarian diagnosis many neurological problems may be overlooked or miss diagnosed! A thermal graphic picture is the only practical means between differentiating the common lameness associated with sympathetic neurological response and the much less common vascular cause of the same clinical symptoms.
If you don’t use thermography first and your original diagnosis comes into question, thermography can be used to reinforce the validity of your original diagnosis or it may discover an additional piece to the puzzle that was keeping your original treatment from moving forward! It also can reassure the client if their impression of the treatment going slow is true or not! Having the client happy with the treatment that their horse is getting is very important!
In the end thermography is a great asset for the horse, the owner and the veterinarian! It gives you a visual representation where the injury is located, it can help prove or disprove client impressions of the treatment and it will make sure that your client is hardly dissatisfied with your diagnosis of their horse!
Thermography is like the all Seeing Eye, it can detect what is happening to the horse’s physiology at that given moment! It helps us detect and locate injuries ranging in all forms, it also helps us determine primary and secondary symptoms, it also allows the veterinarian show the client exactly where more tests may need to done for example ultra sound or x ray!
Without thermography to help in your veterinarian diagnosis many neurological problems may be overlooked or miss diagnosed! A thermal graphic picture is the only practical means between differentiating the common lameness associated with sympathetic neurological response and the much less common vascular cause of the same clinical symptoms.
If you don’t use thermography first and your original diagnosis comes into question, thermography can be used to reinforce the validity of your original diagnosis or it may discover an additional piece to the puzzle that was keeping your original treatment from moving forward! It also can reassure the client if their impression of the treatment going slow is true or not! Having the client happy with the treatment that their horse is getting is very important!
In the end thermography is a great asset for the horse, the owner and the veterinarian! It gives you a visual representation where the injury is located, it can help prove or disprove client impressions of the treatment and it will make sure that your client is hardly dissatisfied with your diagnosis of their horse!
Will William F. James Thermal Imaging diagnose you horse?
William F. James Thermal Imaging will never diagnose your horse; we provide a graphical service so that the owner, vet, farrier, etc… can have another tool to help perform their services. (All clients must sign a disclaimer before services will be rendered.)
