For Veterinary Surgeons

Facilities

Imaging Suite

The comprehensive range of imaging equipment at Dick White Referrals allows the clinicians to select the most appropriate technique for each case. With support from the specialist imaging team, they can provide the optimum diagnosis and treatment for our patients on site 24 hours a day.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

We have a state-of-the-art Hitachi Aperto 0.4T Open Magnetic Resonance Scanner housed within a purpose-built building that includes en-suite anaesthetic facilities. The open magnet allows even the largest of our patients to fit comfortably within the scanner, using a motorised bed for ease of positioning. All patients are anaesthetised to keep them motionless during image acquisition, and this can be monitored by our anesthetists using a full array of MRI compatible monitoring equipment.

We have a large neurology imaging caseload, and the MRI gives exquisite images of the brain, spinal cord and other soft tissues allowing rapid accurate and non-invasive diagnoses. The MRI is also essential in the diagnosis of nasal, ear and orthopaedic diseases; and for planning prior to surgery and radiotherapy in oncology cases. The MRI scanner is capable of many advanced techniques including diffusion weighted imaging (essential for the diagnosis of ischaemic neurological disease), 3-D volume acquisition (allowing thin slice reconstructions of smaller structures) and respiratory gating (leading to excellent soft tissue detail by removing movement artefact from breathing).

Ultrasound

We have 2 purpose built rooms dedicated to ultrasound imaging, containing top of the range ultrasound machines. Our newest acquisition is the cutting edge Phillips IU22 machine, which has a flat LCD screen and a wide range of probes including curvilinear probes for general abdomen imaging, a 5-17mHz linear probe to give excellent near field imaging for example for examining tendons and the anterior chamber of the eye, phased array for cardiac imaging and a 3-D probe. This machine allows real time side by side imaging for contrast ultrasound, an additional tool for locating and characterising neoplastic lesions. It has capability for panoramic, 3-D and 4-D image acquisition.

Both the IU22 and the Phillips HDI5000 are fully equipped with harmonic imaging, and allow M-mode, power and colour Doppler, pulsed wave and continuous Doppler for the full range of vascular and cardiac applications.

Computed Radiography

We have a fully equipped digital x-ray suite combining a high frequency Celtic SMR x-ray machine with a floating tilt table and a fully digital AGFA computed radiography processing system. This combination allows rapid and reliable high quality radiography, minimising any unnecessary radiation dose to our patients.

The radiographs and all other imaging modalities are stored on our fully integrated PACS (picture archiving and communication system). This is fully backed up for security, and allows the images to be viewed from locations throughout the hospital including the high resolution medical grade monitors in the hospital and imaging suites.