Vet360 Vol 4 Issue 4 August 2017 Vet 360 | Page 29

ADVERTORIAL
Written by Kat Evans, BCF in-house Radiographer
Should I Refer
For a CT Scan?
A discussion of Spinal and
Orthopaedic 3D imaging.
This article can help with determining whether CT is
the best for scanning spines and extremities.
Spine
It is important to remember is that CT is not a replace-
ment for X-ray and Ultrasound equipment, and there
are many times when these are still better suited to a
specific diagnosis. CT has an inherently high radiation
dose, and this should be considered when deciding
what is the best modality to use, along with patient
stability and the financial cost. While MRI is excellent for looking at disc disease, the
improved sensitivity of modern CT scanners make
them a valuable diagnostic imaging tool in this region.
If an animal has previously had spinal surgery, and
has metal work near the region you are imaging, a CT
scan will often be more forgiving than MRI– you will
still get artefact, but modern techniques can help you
with this.
Good quality radiographs are always going to be very
valuable for orthopaedic imaging, but there are times
especially in the more complicated joints like the el-
bow when CT can be beneficial to diagnosis. For example, if you have a Pug or Bulldog with
hemi-vertebrae, using a CT scan image can give you
a great 3D reconstruction to assist you in describing
to owners the area of concern - this is also the case
Issue 04 | AUGUST 2017 | 29