SU‐E‐I‐38: How to CT a Horse Using a CT Scanner Built for Human Imaging

Abstract

Purpose: Veterinary medicine teaching hospitals within the United States include fully functioning radiography departments which contain a full host of modern medical imaging capabilities, including standard CT scanners, MR imagers, digital radiography, ultrasound, and nuclear imaging systems. These systems, initially designed for human use, are employed daily in both diagnostic and research imaging studies on non‐human patients. Imaging animals of different species and breeds often presents unique challenges not encountered in human imaging studies. In this work we present a case study of the clinical procedure used for performing an equine CT scan at the Boren Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Methods and Materials: For equine CT procedures, the animal is first anesthetized, loaded on a gurney and transported to prep room. In the prep room it is transferred onto a specially designed large‐animal CT table and positioned for imaging. Next, it is transported to the CT suite where the large‐animal table is docked with the scanners CT couch. The CT scanners couch is then used to drive the large‐animal table and move the animal as the helical CT scan is performed. For our case study, the head and neck of the horse was scanned as part of a study to image a large sinus carcinoma. Conclusion: The equine CT procedure took approximately 30 minutes to complete. Between eight to ten people are need to help stabilize, move, position, and lift the horse at different steps in the process. For this talk we will present a step‐by‐step description of the entire procedure, showcasing the unique challenges encountered when scanning large animals. Conclusion: The specialized needs and challenges of these imaging studies have led to many new procedural and engineering solutions, which are necessary to make scanning large animals on a CT scanner built for human imaging possible.