40
| VET GAZETTE | VET NEWS
RVC UNVEILS NEW ‘STATE OF
THE ART’ CT SCANNER
It is hoped the modern diagnostic technology will increase the welfare of patients requiring
treatment at the hospital
T
he Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has
announced it has successfully installed
one of the most advanced CT scanners of any
veterinary facility in the world, and says it will
“revolutionise” the treatment of animals at the
Queen Mother Hospital for Animals (QMHA).
The new CT scanner was funded by the
RVC’s registered charity, the Animal Care Trust
(ACT), specifically through a special appeal
in 2016 to celebrate the 30th birthday of the
QMHA, which raised over £630,000.
The RVC hopes the modern diagnostic
technology will increase the welfare of
patients requiring treatment at the hospital. It
says this will happen by improving the speed
and quality of scans taking place, as well
as reducing the need for an animal to be
anesthetised before being scanned.
Twig Bradley, a four-year old Springer
Spaniel, was one of the first patients to
benefit from the improved scanner following
a bilateral humeral fracture that required
surgery. After the surgery, the clinical team
were able to assess how the dog’s bones
were recovering using the cutting-edge
scanning technology.
Dan Chan, professor of emergency and
critical care medicine and medical director
of the QMHA at the RVC, said: “It is very
uncommon that such an incredible leap in
the care of animals can be achieved with
a single innovation. Because of the vast
improvement in speed and quality of the
images produced by the ‘Otter Scanner’ our
specialists are now able to obtain much
more detailed images of various diseases
affecting our patients so that the best
possible treatment can be planned.”
NEWLY QUALIFIED VET RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP
FOR RAPTOR REHABILITATION RESEARCH
Helen Inzani currently works at the All Creatures Healthcare centre in Norwich as a small
animal and exotics vet
C
ambridge
Veterinary
School graduate,
Helen Inzani, was
announced as
the recipient of
the Harry Steele-
Bodger Memorial
Travel Scholarship
for 2018 during an
awards ceremony at the British Veterinary
Association’s (BVA) Members’ Day in York.
The Harry Steele-Bodger Memorial
Travel Scholarship is awarded annually to a
penultimate or final-year veterinary student
or a recent graduate to support a piece of
research, a veterinary or agricultural school
visit, or another course of study overseas.
Taverham, Norfolk-based Inzani
graduated with a degree in veterinary
medicine and an intercalated degree in
zoology from the University of Cambridge
www.petgazette.biz
this summer and began working as a small
animal and exotics vet at All Creatures
Healthcare in Norwich earlier this month.
She aims to use the £1,000 grant to support
her project on raptor rehabilitation at the
Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey in Maitland,
US and at other similar centres in Florida.
She will be working with vets and
scientists at these institutes early next year in
their efforts to rehabilitate birds of prey and
evaluate the techniques they use in housing,
feeding and retraining birds to fly, as well as
the diagnostic and therapeutic techniques.
Inzani said: “Receiving the Harry Steele-
Bodger Memorial Scholarship was a special
moment for me. It has enabled me to extend
my elective project on the rehabilitation rates
of birds of prey to Florida. There, I will have
the privilege to learn from world-leading
experts in raptor rehabilitation and hopefully
share this knowledge with centres back
home.”
EXOTIC VET PRACTICE
GIVEN £125,000
INVESTMENT
Orchid Veterinary Surgery in Brentwood has
seen a complete renovation of its first floor
A
n Essex veterinary practice has been
boosted by a £125,000 investment in
new ‘state of the art’ equipment to support its
specialist service for the care of exotic pets.
Orchid Veterinary Surgery in Brentwood has
seen its first floor renovated into a dedicated
exotics suite, with new equipment including
an ECG to monitor an animal’s heart rate,
ultrasound and ultrasonic doppler to give
accurate information about organs, and
a laser machine to treat muscle and joint
conditions.
A new waiting room has been built for the
exotics suite which also benefits from a new
operating table, advanced lighting systems
and anti-fatigue mats to provide additional
comfort for the operating team when working.
The surgery specialises in the treatment
of exotic pets which include everything from
common rabbits and hamsters to rare and
unusual monkeys, fish and reptiles.
The practice’s clinical director, William
Lewis, told Pet Gazette: “The practice’s client
base has grown substantially over recent
years and this investment will allow us to
provide the very best care for owners of
exotics, as well as owners of more common
family pets.
“We felt that is was important to create
a separate environment for exotics at the
practice as the wide variety of species we
treat provides challenges in terms of space
and catering for each animal’s differing needs
and temperaments.”
He added: “Our team is able to care for
exotic pets from all over the region and each
day is different with everything from owls,
parrots, foxes, snakes, fish and tortoises
arriving through our practice doors. The safety
of our team of staff always comes first so the
state-of-the-art equipment will allow them to
carry out their work even more efficiently and
comfortably.”
October 2018