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UCD Veterinary Hospital approves vets to put old cat scan machine to good use for injured cats, dogs, calves, foals, birds and even a seal.

A CT scanner is showing pets and sick animals in a whole new light. Injured cats, dogs, calves, foals, birds and even a seal have all been passed through the scanner at the UCD Veterinary Hospital. While the majority of its patients are household pets, Dublin Zoo and the Irish Seal Sanctuary have also used the machine to diagnose various ailments suffered by their charges.

The Siemens CT scanner was originally used on humans, but as technology advanced it was bypassed in favour of more sophisticated equipment. But rather than being left to lie idle and gather dust, it has instead been recommissioned and bought by the country's only teaching veterinary hospital to help in the treatment of our furry, and not so furry, friends.

Since being installed at the veterinary hospital in January, around 10 animals a week have been sent through the scanner with the resulting three-dimensional images proving a useful tool for surgeons. There are limitations on the animals that can be scanned, as the table is only able to hold a maximum weight of 240kg and the creature must be able to fit through the bore-hole. A whole menagerie of ill animals have been sent through the machine, some more unusual than others.

Complicated

Among them was a flamingo from Dublin Zoo that had suffered ligament damage to one of its legs, and a seal that had suffered a serious gash to its face after becoming entangled in fishing lines. Cliona Skelly, a lecturer in diagnostic imaging, said the scanner had proved invaluable in giving surgeons a better understanding of the problems facing their patients. "Up until this, we only did X-rays and ultrasounds. Now, with the CT scanner everything is in 3D.

"If an animal was to come in with a lung mass, we can now see that in 3D and see how the mass is attached and how best to remove it. "It's also useful for some areas of complicated anatomy like the elbow," she explained.

Source: Irish Independent